Earlier this week, those who follow us on Twitter may have seen the following tweet from us:
The “Ask Dr. Melinda” portion of Hartz’s Ultraguard website was scrutinized in the conclusion of our “A [sic] Education Tab Series” so, of course, we couldn’t resist hitting Hartz more than once on this topic:
Well, Hartz’ pride must have been hurt by this, causing us to put out the next tweet a couple days later:
So, what happened?
We’re not exactly sure but, as we’ve pointed out before; with 25 years combined experience, the Broken Hartz team is well-versed in the field of web design and it does not appear to have been a technical glitch. The section simply went from functional, to broken then back to normal.
The section appears to have been intentionally taken down some time between the conclusion of our “A [sic] Education Tab” series and the day we discovered the discrepancy, only to appear again after we mocked Hartz for this act.
This return sparked our curiosity as we again found ourselves taking in the advice of Hartz’ nefarious drone, Dr. Melinda Fernyhough. In this re-visitation, something previously unnoticed caught our eye.
On the subject of aged animals, both Hartz’ cat and dog product labeling for their flea “treatments” caution against the administration of these products on seniors:
This statement is echoed in the FAQ section of Hartz’ Facebook Flea & Tick Education Tab:
Despite these cautions, here’s what the “good doctor” had to say on the subject:
In the screenshot above, the question and Dr. Melinda’s answer read as follows:
“I have an elderly dog, is he too old for a [sic] topical flea and tick treatments and, if so, what do you recommend I should do now to control his fleas?
Your dog is not too old. In fact, it is important to provide effective flea and tick control for your senior dog’s health and well-being. However, if your dog has been diagnosed with an illness, consult your veterinarian before using any topical flea and tick product.”
Wow, Mel, that sounds like a reckless statement that may lead to improper use of Hartz’ products and, consequently, more needless injuries or deaths.
In the next screenshots, you’ll notice Dr. Melinda doesn’t flat-out give the green light to consumers to use Hartz’ flea “treatment” products on senior cats, though the sentence following her initial statement seems to suggest she had intended to claim Hartz’ flea “treatment” products for cats are safe to use on elderly cats in the same manner she did when referring to Hartz’ flea “treatment” products for dogs.
We believe Dr. Mel to have been spared from making this deadly error a second time solely due to her poor proofreading skills, which have been well documented, incidentally, throughout our mission’s history.
“I have a 16 year old cat, is she too old for topical flea and tick treatments and, if so, what do you recommend I should do now to control her fleas?
Topical treatments should not be used on senior cats. In fact, it is important to provide effective flea and tick control for your senior cat’s health and well-being. However, if your cat has been diagnosed with an illness, consult your veterinarian before using any topical flea and tick product.”
Well, which is it Hartz? These mixed messages seem to be causing more contradictions between your websites and your labeling which, as we’ve already pointed out, may cause the EPA to declare your products to be inconsistent with the Fedaral Insecticide, Fungicide, Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).
That could be a problem.
=^..^=
