Acana faces New York class action over grain-free dog food linked to fatal heart disease

A New York dog owner is suing Champion Petfoods, alleging its Acana grain-free dog food was promoted as a healthier choice for everyday feeding even though the products allegedly lacked key nutrients and played a role in a young dog's fatal heart disease.

What happened?

On June 28, 2026, Thea Zabnicki, from Delaware County, New York, brought a proposed class action in federal court in Boulder, Colorado, against Champion Petfoods USA Inc., the company behind Acana.

According to Claim Depot, Zabnicki said she bought multiple Acana grain-free varieties through Chewy from 2023 to 2025 after relying on the brand's health-focused packaging and marketing. In 2025, her dog suffered heart failure and died at just 2.5 years old.

In the complaint, Champion, an independent subsidiary of Mars Petcare, is accused of presenting its grain-free products as "complete, health-forward nutrition" and "fully balanced, everyday nutrition" that gives dogs everything they need, while allegedly failing to disclose nutritional shortcomings and possible heart-related dangers.

Another part of the lawsuit focuses on the formulas' heavy use of peas, lentils, and other legumes. The plaintiff says research links that kind of ingredient profile to dilated cardiomyopathy, or DCM, a serious disease that weakens the heart muscle.

Why does it matter?

Among the nutrients the lawsuit says Acana grain-free formulas lacked are iron, thiamine, calcium, riboflavin, folate, and niacin. The complaint says those nutrients are important for heart health, metabolism, and the nervous system.

The complaint further alleges that Champion did not add a warning to its packaging despite years of broader regulatory scrutiny over grain-free foods and canine heart disease.

What's being done?

For now, this remains an early-stage lawsuit, not a settlement or recall. The allegations have not been proven, and there is no claims process or payout available to consumers at this stage.

Zabnicki is seeking to represent a nationwide class of people who bought Acana grain-free products, along with a New York subclass. The complaint brings claims under New York consumer protection laws, as well as claims for express warranty, an alleged duty-to-warn violation, and unjust enrichment.

The lawsuit asks the court to approve class certification, award damages and restitution, and require Champion to add cardiovascular warnings to Acana grain-free packaging.

At its core, the unproven case challenges whether Acana grain-free food matched the brand's promises of "complete, health-forward nutrition" and "fully balanced, everyday nutrition" that "gives dogs everything they need."

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