Pets Sick After Flea and Tick Application

Many people own pets, and we do everything we can for our four legged family member. I read several posts on hartzvictim.org about people, who purchased a popular pet product, and used it on their pets, which resulted in their pet getting severely sick. The product in question was the Hartz Gold Flea Treatment, and Hartz Ultra Guard Flea treatment, the squeeze tube treatment. These people who used these products all described similar, horrific ailments with their pets, below are a few quotes taken from their posts.

One lady after applying the medication to her dogs says "All three dogs foamed at the mouth. I could tell by their behavior that they were also in pain. My largest dog seized after about 4 hrs. Small repetitive seizures. My medium sized dog became lethargic."

A second family said " Immediately after putting the medicine on my two very big boxers they both started getting whelps all over their body. I woke up with a swollen face and swollen eye." This happened to her after she awakened, she stated that previously she had washed the medication from the dog, figuring she would be OK, as would the dog.

A couple writes that after applying this medication to their dog, upon returning home from dinner "When we returned our dog had vomited all over the house, was foaming at the mouth, her pupils were dilated and she had trouble standing."

The number of complaints go on, and on , all with similar symptoms. Their pets were experiencing poisoning from this medication. I have never once considered using this type of medication on my dog, except one time while living in the country down south, and it was easy to apply, you simply push back the hair, exposing the skin, and squeeze the tube, and make a inch pass head to tail, it is quite simple. The only thing I can think of is, maybe they scratched with their hind legs before the medication dried. But mine had also in the one time I used such a product and she never fell ill.

Reading more on this, according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) website it states that "Hartz voluntarily stopped production of this product by September 2005, and would not sell or distribute after December 31, 2005." Also noting the" Hartz Company agreed to prohibition on sales to retail by March 31, 2006." The agreement between Hartz and the EPA is that: "The new labeling will state that the products of concern are not to be used on the most vulnerable animals, including cats and kittens that weigh less than 6 pounds, cats older than 13 years, or kittens less than 5 months old." What bothers me when reading these peoples statements is, these people had their pets injured in the month of October 2008, the dates of 17Th, 19Th and 20Th. These animals were not said to be puppies or kitten, they were described as dogs and cats. All had the same response from Hartz when they called about the symptoms, as one lady named Crystal says "Hartz's operator did not care at all that my dog was going through this horrific event. I will tell every pet owner that I know NOT to use this misleading, pet killing product! How can these people not care?"

The chemical(s) in question for the poisoning are: Phenothrin, and Methoprene. The Phenothrin content is 85.7% as the Methoprene is 2.9 %. These chemicals are as described in the EPA facts as follows:"Phenothrin is synthetic pyrethroid that kills adult fleas and ticks. Methoprene is an insect growth regulator that interrupts the insect's life cycle by killing the eggs". The same chemical as phenothrin is found in the following products indoor foggers, bug bombs, pet flea sprays, and head lice treatment. Inhaling these can cause the symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain and difficulty breathing in humans. The laboratory tests in rats showed the effect for animals to have the symptoms of: rapid breathing, in co-ordination, sprawling of limbs, and tremors to name a few. Just like the symptoms the owners above experienced with their pets, they all claim they read and followed the directions as the dosage per weight and size of their pet. Why did they become so sick? Could it be possibly a large quantity of bad doses got out to the public? That is one answer I could not find.There is a civil suit being started by one of the posters at hartzvictims.org against Hartz for the injuries of these animals by the people who purchased these products.

Is there any safe way to protect your pet from fleas and ticks without them having to go through this horrible experience? I use Brewers Yeast and Garlic tablets, I have used this method with my Doberman, and my pet now, which is a elk hound mix. I never had no fleas or ticks. Also there is an all natural product I found healthyhappydogs.com called an "All-In-One" remedy. They say it is 100% safe and non toxic by using a method of diatomaceous earth. According to their website diatomaceous earth is," the geologic deposits of the fossilized skeletons of microscopic organisms. They are broken into a razor sharp pieces at a microscopic level, to humans and pets it feels like powder. But When a flea comes into contact with it their protective coating is pierced, causing them to lose their bodily fluids, dehydrate, and die."

When it comes to my pet or your pet, I think this puts up an caution flag, for us consumers. Our pets lives are too precious to let them suffer like many did with the pet food recall. If you have a pet and were unaware of this, read more on the supporting link below. I wish you and your pet, to be safe and happy.

Quotes and EPA information: www.hartzvictim.org

All natural flea and tick solutions: www.healthyhappydogs.com