Rodent found in kid's Dr. Pepper will help you kick that soda habit for good
If you're looking to give up soda once and for all: you've come to the right place.
John Graves, of Katy, Texas, apparently gave his three-year-old grandson, Kayden, a Dr. Pepper while they were enjoying the day in Galveston on Sunday. Luckily (?) Kayden only drank half of it, because they claim to have discovered a small rodent floating inside the bottle.
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The 20-ounce drink in question contained a small, mouse-sized animal, about three inches long, with small ears and beady eyes. Since the drink was quite large for a three-year-old, Kayden only finished about 10 ounces before having his grandfather screw the cap back on and taking it home with them.
On Monday, they opened the bottle again and they saw the small, but stomach-churning animal.
Graves told KPRC 2 in Houston, "I want to get the rat tested to see where it came from, how it got there, if there is any medical concerns we should be concerned about." The family has contacted the state of Texas, the CDC and Dr. Pepper's corporate headquarters.
Kayden has seen a pediatrician and has gotten blood and urine samples taken, just to make sure he has not contracted any diseases as a result of drinking the tainted soda. Plans are being made to also test the rodent and the bottle.
Dr. Pepper has also released a statement to KPRC 2, saying:
"Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our consumers. We take all consumer complaints very seriously, are very concerned about the call we received today from Mr. Graves and are investigating it as best as we can.
"What we know from our experience is that given the controls and safeguards we have in our production facilities it is virtually impossible for any foreign object to enter any container during the bottling process. All of our containers enter our facility on pallets in our warehouse and remain covered until the moment they are placed on our high-speed filling lines. Once on the filling lines, they are inverted and rinsed out before they are filled and capped.
"We have offered to dispatch a courier to pick up the product to take it out for testing by a third party forensics laboratory, but the consumer has declined this request. This lab would be able to analyze any rodent that got into the product, determine how it entered the container and even inspect the contents of its stomach. This process can take six-eight weeks to yield conclusive findings. Until we have the opportunity to review the contents, we don't have a way to do a full investigation."
If only Dr. Pepper had an M.D.
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Topics Animals
Andrea Romano -- comedy writer, craft enthusiast, lady -- was a Watercooler Reporter. She worked as an intern at Mashable beginning in January 2014. Andrea recently completed her Masters degree in Media Studies and Film from The New School and writes sketch comedy at Upright Citizens Brigade and The People's Improv Theatre. She once watched three Paul Rudd movies in a row on a bicoastal flight and didn't realize it until she landed. She does things like that a lot. Twitter: @theandrearomano
