Penny’s Finds #8: What About Bob?

Look out, dis kittehs got claws.

After last week’s Finds were posted showing how Bob Martin went back on its claim they would be replacing their flea collars in the UK with alternative products, some interesting information surfaced from other activists in our community.

Bob Martin posted the following on Facebook in 2009:

Within the above screen capture, Bob Martin states:

“All Permethrin Spot Ons ALWAYS contain clear warnings against use on cats as Permethrin is potentially lethal. On very rare occasions, cats have mistakenly been treated with Permethrin Spot On, sometimes with devastating consequences.”

As Tiny Timmy points out, Bob Martin acknowledges Permethrin is potentially lethal to cats, yet carries cat flea collars containing… what active ingredient? PERMETHRIN. According to the Veterinary Support Personnel Network (among others):

“Cats are more likely than dogs to develop pyrethroid toxicosis. This is due to the feline liver being inefficient at glucuronide conjugation. Glucuronide conjugation is needed to metabolize permethrin. The low concentration products approved for cats contain 0.05-0.1% of permethrin and do not seem to cause the signs that the concentrated (45-65% permethrin) canine spot-ons do.” [VSPN]

Bob Martin’s cat collars contain 456mg of Permethrin, 18% w/w (percentage of the substance by weight). True, this is not 45-65%, but it’s certainly not .05-.1% either. What I think is truly important to note here is

Permethrin is toxic to cats.

Symptoms of Permethrin poisoning in cats include tremors, seizures, difficulty walking and many cats have died or been euthanized due to Permethrin exposure.

Is Permethrin the only option for treating fleas and ticks on cats, making it necessary for Bob Martin to sell these products for the greater good?

Of course not.

There are countless other options available for preventing and treating fleas and ticks on cats, including vacuuming your home and laundering all animal and human bedding. That’s right, regular old doesn’t-cause-seizures vacuuming kills fleas in your environment, where fleas live, according to the EPA. Vacuuming kills eggs, larvae and adult fleas, eliminating them from carpeting. I’ve also heard very good things about Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth. If you or your Vet insist on using chemicals due to a severe infestation or for whatever reason, a vast amount of products with newer active ingredients and wider margins of safety exist and are mainly sold through Veterinarians.

Knowing this, why would anyone want to put this garbage on their cat? Why would any company claiming to love animals sell this product? Why is it glittery?

This picture of Bob Martin’s bling-bling toxic neck ring was taken by BH Ambassador @Lulu_Lindi in Scotland two weeks ago at ASDA, a wholly-owned division of Wal-Mart:

You may also be interested in reading what The Endocrine Disruption Exchange has to say about Permethrin’s effects on humans. [TEDX]

Tanks to Tiny Timmy and teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

Penny’s Finds #7

Bob Martin Clarifies: By “Remove the Flea Collars”, They Actually Meant “Keep on Shelves Until They Sell Out”

After receiving numerous calls from concerned consumers since France issued a ban on flea collars containing organophosphates, Bob Martin, a European producer of over-the-counter flea and tick products, announced on May 16, 2012 they would be “working with retailers in the coming weeks to remove the products and provide alternative products.” Despite this announcement, Bob Martin flea collars were spotted at a grocery store in Scotland on July 3, 2012 (pictured above) by BH Ambassador @Lulu_Lindi. When questioned via Twitter on when exactly the flea collars would be removed, the company responded with the following:

“we’ve voluntarily stopped selling the collars; the product hasn’t been banned; retailers may have residual stock”

Bob Martin added:

“any remaining stock that shops may have on their shelves will sell through but will not be replenished by us”

While we applaud Bob Martin on their decision to stop producing the products, the statement the company provided on Twitter conflicts with their press release claiming the products would be removed from shelves and replaced with alternative products. Sneaky sneaky, Bob. This means that the flea collars, found to be potentially toxic to children and deemed unacceptably dangerous by France, could potentially remain on store shelves elsewhere for years as the products sell out, or until the UK decides to ban the toxic plastic strips as well.

Read more about France’s flea collar ban and other animal industry updates from PoisonedPets.com:

• BANNED: Flea collars are pulled off shelves in France, citing danger to pets and children [PoisonedPets]
• Purina Recalls AquaMax Products, Expands Recall of Mazuri and LabDiet Feed Products [PoisonedPets]
• Class Action Filed Against Monte’s Milo’s Kitchen [PoisonedPets]

In PetMate Lingo, “Warranty” May Be Better Interpreted as “Expiration Date”

An individual contacted us with the following account of an issue she experienced with a PetMate carrier. Two years ago, she purchased a soft, collapsible PetMate carrier for her 8lb cat, Boo. This June, her husband took Boo to the vet. Upon, returning, he was transporting Boo from the car to the house when the zippers of the carrier broke apart and Boo, startled, got out. The pair searched for their scared little girl all night long to no avail. They put up fliers, spoke to all the neighbors, put out food and water, set humane traps, enlisted others to help with the search but still failed to find Boo. The following day, around noon, a neighbor called with a sighting:

“I was at their home in less than 2 minutes and found warm blood and bloody paw prints. We were frantic but hoped she’d just hurt her paw.”

That wasn’t the case. They continued searching day and night without sleep or food. Their other cat cried at the window the entire time, refusing to eat as well. Two days later, in the evening they found their little girl behind a garage alive, but in obvious distress. Her leg was severely broken and the individual, who volunteers at  a cat rescue, knew it would require amputation. Further inspection revealed the true tragedy, poor Boo’s entire abdomen (skin & muscle) had been forcibly ripped off, most likely caused by a car pinning her between it’s wheel and the curb, according to this individual’s Veterinarian.

“She mustered some meows for us but she was looking at several surgeries. We were looking at over $10k to save her and she would have been in extensive pain for 6+ months. Her temp was so low it wouldn’t register and several times before we had to make the call I thought she’d already passed. We spent all our bill money on vet bills. We can never unsee what we saw, but I wish we could.”

The couple contacted PetMate with this opinion:

“I’d like to let you know that your defective product caused this so you can make better products so people don’t have to go through what we did. I am holding on to this carrier in case you want to pay to have it shipped to you so you can look it over. If not I’m going to throw it away. We are beyond devastated by all of this and traumatized by how our little girl looked when we found her.”

This was PetMate’s response:

“Thank you for your email, and we are truly sorry for your loss. We understand that the loss of a pet, especially when they are cherished members of the family, is devastating.

We really appreciate you taking the time and extra step to let us know what happened. We have passed on your valuable feedback to our Product Development teams and are saddened as anyone when a beloved pet is injured in any way, as we are pet parents ourselves.

When I inquired about having the unit returned, it was determined that since the unit is two years old, it would be beyond the warranty instilled for this product line and not a necessary action. It was suggested that you could e-mail pictures and we could add them to the file. This would be up to you.

Our compassion is with you in this time of sadness and healing.

If I can assist further please let me know.

Sincerest Regards,

[Name Removed]
Consumer Services Supervisor”

We have shared this in sympathy for a devastated family:

“I would love you to tell her story so others know. If I would have known the carriers weren’t reliable past their warranty I would have replaced it every year! But I wasn’t made aware of this until that email from the company mentioned the warranty. I hadn’t even thought about it. I only wanted them to know they had a faulty product that caused a beloved pet to die in a horrific way with much pain and suffering so they could do better. But they don’t want to do better they just want to hide behind their warranty expiration. If they cared they’d want to see this.”

While we fear there is no legal recourse that can be taken against PetMate in this case, since the product did not directly cause the injury, we wish to stress members of Broken Hartz will be throwing out their hard-shelled PetMate carriers, well past warranty, and will seek another option.”

Lennox Euthanized by Belfast City Council, Backlash Ensues

After a two year legal battle, Belfast City Council euthanized Lennox, the family animal companion who never bit anyone, under Breed Specific Legislation. However, many questions remain. The council refused to return Lennox’s body or even the dog’s collar and many are questioning when Lennox actually died and how. New video surfaced of Lennox being evaluated by a behavioral expert hired by Lennox’s family while Alexandra Lightfoot, the dog warden who testified under oath she was terrified to be near Lennox, sits nearby and pets him. The video shows Lennox wagging his tail, sweetly taking treats and showing no signs of aggression despite being carefully taunted by the behavioral expert. Sinista DaCapo and Cypress DaKilla released a rap song and video expressing their outrage over Belfast City Council’s actions, which has gone viral. The Lennox Army is calling for an investigation into Belfast City Council. [Examiner]

Some of the latest from HartzVictims.org

These people treated 8 cats with Hartz. Only one survived. To the best of our knowledge, Adverse Events involving multiple animals are still not included in EPA studies. The EPA is trying to determine how to include these reports. [HartzVictims.org]

OTC Flea and Tick Product Activists Bid Farewell to BioSpotVictims.org

After eight long years, the highly informative resource on over-the-counter flea and tick products BioSpot Victims.org was removed by site owner, James TerBush. This is a very sad loss for all of us fighting this battle. You can read more about the site and its owner at TinyTimmy.org. Tiny Timmy followed up this piece with a welcome to Broken Hartz and a summary on how our mission came to be. All of us at Broken Hartz thank Mr. TerBush for his years of service to our community and for the factual information he provided which helped fuel the launch of our mission. [TinyTimmy.org]

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

Penny’s Finds #6

Hai Efurrybodies!

Though my segment has habitually offered a smattering of finds; today, I’d like to focus on one matter in particular.

Our mission is directed squarely at Hartz Mountain Corporation’s deadly flea and tick products because:

1. This is the brand with which our affiliates had an issue
2. We proved their resident veterinarian, Dr. Melinda Fernyhough, to be a dirty liar
3. We found Hartz flea and tick products to be the most deadly by far, in the case of an Adverse Event, based on EPA data from their 2010 Public Advisory
4. The Company is shady as hell

That being said, during our investigations, me and other BH affiliates come upon information concerning not just Hartz, but other Flea and Tick brands as well. This is part of the reason we do not recommend any particular product, advising people to speak with a reputable Veterinarian before applying any product to an animal. More importantly, we seek to drive the point home that all these products are likely to be unnecessary. Vacuuming, laundering, baths with baby shampoo, flea traps and flea combs do an excellent job of protecting your family. We also recommend researching your Vet and any products they recommend. If there’s one thing we’ve learned throughout this mission, it’s that you can never be too careful when choosing a good Veterinarian and products for your furbabies.

To illustrate this point, I’d like to share some findings on Frontline. Frontline is probably the most well-known flea and tick control product on the market, but it is not without problems. Though not as deadly as Hartz, the brand has its own myriad of complaints from consumers:

• Frontline complaints discussion [Amazon]
• More Frontline complaints [Consumer Affairs]

That’s a lot of complaints but, again, Frontline is probably the most popular flea & tick brand on the market. More sales means more likelihood of incidents, which is why we have resorted to percentages in the absence of hard sales data when compiling our charts.

Another matter to consider in the case of Frontline is the knowledge that counterfeits exist, potentially causing many incidents to be incorrectly attributed to Frontline. The counterfeits reportedly contain anything from simply water to toxic pesticides.

• Warning About Counterfeit Frontline [Amazon Discussion Board]
• Information on Counterfeit Pesticide Products for Cats and Dogs [EPA]
• Fact Sheet: Retailers and Counterfeit Pet Products (PDF) [EPA]

Also, I can’t help but notice these negative reports for Frontline seem to come primarily from internet based purchases, even though Frontline is not sold by Merial to anyone but licensed Veterinarians. To assume this means all internet versions of Frontline are counterfeit however would be incorrect. To showcase this point, I call back to a piece from the Veterinary Information Network I mentioned in my first “Penny’s Finds” segment. This piece talks about a Veterinarian who went undercover to expose the illegal sale of Frontline. I only shared Part 1 last time, but did you know this was a 3-part series? It is a very interesting read!

Veterinarian Goes Undercover to Expose Illegal Sales of Frontline:

• [VIN – Part 1]
• [VIN – Part 2]
• [VIN – Part 3]

Funny, we’ve only heard of counterfeit Frontline and Advantage, never Hartz or Sergeant’s. We can’t imagine why. *rolls eyes*

I’d like to finish this week’s Penny’s Finds with a reminder that Truthfairy is very concerned about Frontline.

That’s all for this week!

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

Penny’s Finds #5

Generic Over-the-Counter Flea and Tick Medication Containing Tetrachlorvinphos (TCVP) Kills Family Dog [Video]
Derek Demo of CBS 12 News is warning the public that chemicals in over-the-counter flea and tick medications can be dangerous.

The CBS reporter spoke with Jessica Mentz, who recently lost her 1 1/2 year old Boxer, Rocky, after applying less than the recommended amount of a generic over-the-counter flea and tick spray. The main active ingredient in this spray was none other than tetrachlorvinphos, a chemical to which we have previously called attention. See: Tetra-who-vin-what?

Naturally, the manufacturer of the product takes no responsibility.

“They just told me they can guarantee it wasn’t their product. They’ve tested on their animals and it’s never happened.” -Jessica Mentz

Dr. James Esh, a local Veterinarian, strongly disagrees with the manufacturer:

“There are a number of products that are actually the older chemicals we had 30 years ago, when I became a veterinarian and some of those are very, very toxic.”

Broken Hartz applauds Mr. Demo on this piece for its clear public safety message. [KHSL TV]

Speaking of Old, Toxic Chemicals and Shady Companies
June Buggie the cat’s mom, Jen, experienced a close call due to some poor advice given to her from a PetSmart employee. She had come in for Frontline, but the clerk steered her away from it, recommending she treat her medicated dog DeDe with First Shield, the official flea & tick product of PetSmart’s in-house clinic, Banfield Pet Hospital. This treatment, which contains permethrin, is the same active ingredient in Hartz UltraGuard One Spot for Dogs and Puppies. Permethrin, as many of you know, is toxic to cats and, therefore, reputable Veterinarians will not even send someone home with a permethrin product if there is a cat in the house.

Thankfully, Jen knew about permethrin too and noticed the clerk’s error before using the product. First Shield is a Summit Vetpharm LLC product and, at one point, Summit was a direct sibling to Hartz Mountain Corporation, when both brands were primarily owned by Sumitomo Corporation. With Sumitomo selling off primary shares of both companies, the relationship has distanced, but Sumitomo still holds quite a bit of stock in both. In case you’re wondering, Sumitomo is a chemical manufacturer that, among other unsavory patents, holds the rights to none other than permethrin. For the record, recent studies have shown permethrin and all other pyrethrins, pyrethroids and pseudo-pyrethroids to not be as safe for dogs as once believed either.

Be sure to check out June Buggie’s full story on her sibling Rumpy’s excellent blog. [Rumpy Dog]

Meanwhile, on the subject of Banfield, we have nothing good to say. We became aware of them by chance during an incident with a detractor, who just so happened to be a Banfield employee, and were horrified by what we saw:

• Banfield complaints [Consumer Affairs]
• More Banfield complaints [Pissed Consumer]
• Here’s some more, including the comments [Lyzardly]
• Oh, what’s this? A complaint? [Crusty Orange]
• This is getting ridiculous [Yorkie Talk]
• Someone even made a Facebook page! [Banfield Pet Hospital is the Wrong Choice]
• Two pages into my Google search. Hopefully, the point has been made. [The Cat Site]

Note to Pedigree: Plastic is Not Part of the Food Pyramid
A voluntary recall was issued by Pedigree for a limited range of three varieties of their weight management canned dog food due to the discovery of pieces of blue plastic in the varieties cited. While we’re not applauding Pedigree, we feel it’s important for animal product manufacturers to receive some level of merit for having the willingness to acknowledge a problem, with seemingly little or no pressure from a government agency, rather than attempting to sweep the problem under the rug. Consumers can and should return the product for a full refund. [Life with Dogs]

For great information on manufactured pet food, please remember to check out Poisoned Pets. [PoisonedPets.com]

Tainted Chicken Jerky Treats from China and Product Liability
The Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog offers some information on product liability and pet supplies, pointing out it’s challenging to determine damages after a family loses their animal companion to a faulty pet product, since the law currently views animals as “personal property”. Damages are based on the animal’s fair market value and that is sad, to say the least. [Washington DC Injury Lawyer Blog]

Lennox’s Family Will Not Continue Legal Action
The family of Lennox the dog released a statement saying they have chosen not to prolong Lennox’s suffering fighting a battle they cannot win. This is a sad, yet understandable, course of action and all of us at Broken Hartz thank the family for the attention they brought world-wide to Breed Specific Legislation so it may inspire change. [Examiner]

Website Shocked to Discover People Will Not Pay for Free Information
On a side note, the North Country Gazette has dedicated a lot of time to covering the story of Lennox. Broken Hartz, along with other organizations and tens of thousands of Lennox supporters, had been thankful for this service, but the editor is seemingly pissed off that their plan to draw more attention to this story succeeded, dubbing loyal, repeat visitors to their website as being nothing more than common thieves. Here’s why:

The “paper” is, apparently, a pay service with no pay wall wherein the “company” has chosen to employ a hysterical combination of the honor system, mixed with passive-aggressive threats (less passive, more aggressive) to extract “donations” to their organization. They even go so far as to blame the “abuse” of Lennox supporters for threatening the website’s livelihood. The editor launches into a tirade, claiming Google to be anti-Lennox due to NCG’s AdSense account being disabled seemingly as a result of the website receiving an overwhelming amount of traffic from Facebook. We guess NCG hasn’t figured out how to capitalize on their recent spike in traffic without Google’s AdSense service.

We cannot stop laughing at how bizarre this is and wish we had looked into this more when we first recognized their red, mid-article donation demands. The following article points to a case where North Country Gazette was up-in-arms with another website for sharing an article that turned out to have been “borrowed” from a Florida news organization by NCG. [PI Bill Warner]

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

Penny’s Finds #4

In case you missed it
The chihuahuas in the video above, DJ & Gizmo, are two of Hartz Mountain Corporation’s newest victims. They were treated with Hartz UltraGuard Rid Flea & Tick Shampoo, purchased at Walmart. Neither animal survived. The video of these two victims has been shared on HartzVictims.org by the family as well. Here is an additional video of Gizmo. [Gizmo Poor Baby]

Oh, Look, Another Lawsuit Against Hartz
The latest lawsuit being filed against Hartz Mountain Corporation is on behalf of Scranton, Pennsylvania couple, Pattie and Thomas Koslowski, the nature of the suit being “Torts – Injury – Personal Injury – Product Liability”. Personal injury? It wouldn’t surprise us. What does surprise us is Hartz has requested a trial by jury. This hasn’t worked out well for them in the past.

Earlier this year, we wrote about the death of David Wilgus’s dog and the subsequent lawsuit filed in Indiana against Hartz and Walmart. Wilgus cited “Torts – Property – Property Damage – Product Liability” as the nature of the suit. The word “property” is, sadly, how our court system refers to animals.

If you have any information regarding these cases, please contact us. [Justia]

Diamond Pet Food Class-Action
Diamond Pet Foods Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corporation have been hit with a class-action suit in the state of New York by Barbara Marciano, who claims her animal companion, Jelly, died after eating dog food tainted with Salmonella. Affected consumers are encouraged to join the suit. You can find out more by visiting mah furriend, Mollie, at PoisonedPets.com. [Poisoned Pets]

Punk Rock Activists Jailed in Russia
Three alleged members of the punk rock feminist activist group, Pussy Riot, have been arrested in Russia under charges of hooliganism after staging a flash-mob style performance inside Moscow’s main Orthodox Church. The performance, which the band called a prayer, contained lyrics condemning the church’s support for Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin. In a classic debate over the relationship between church and state, many wonder if the girls would be in prison if the act did not include an (artistic) attack on Putin. If convicted, the girls face up to seven years in prison. The brightly-colored, balaclava-donned protesters have quickly become internet superstars, while Russia remains divided about whether or not the girls deserve such a harsh sentence. Broken Hartz members have varying political and religious beliefs, but we fully support all peaceful forms of anonymous activism, freedom of opinion, artistic expression and are opposed to the holding of prisoners of conscience. Many groups and political figures worldwide have been calling for the girls’ release. [Amnesty International]

Additional information is available at FreePussyRiot.org.

To hear some of the girls’ opinions on their mission, watch this video.

Birds of a Feather Dump Toxic Waste Together
The Hartz Consumer Group, on behalf of Hartz Mountain Corporation, is one of 70 companies found to be potentially responsible for the highly-toxic contamination of the lower Passaic River, which flows through some of the most industrialized areas of New Jersey. The Environmental Protection Agency is requiring the listed corporations to pony up more than $20 million in estimated recovery costs. [EPA]

Congressman Asks FDA to Ban Toxic Pesticide, Lindane, for Use in Children’s Lice Treatment
The insecticide Lindane was banned by the EPA for agricultural use in 2006 due to its toxicity to humans, but is somehow still approved by the FDA for use in lice and scabies treatment for children. Congressman Edward Markey is asking the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its use, due to research on its toxicity and ineffectiveness. That’s right: not only is it toxic, but it doesn’t work. Sound familiar? [Beyond Pesticides]

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

Penny’s Finds #3

Skelanimals: Dead Animals Need Love Too

Seriously?

You may be surprised to learn the above graphic is not the latest meme from Broken Hartz.

According to ToyMania.com and other sources, Hartz Mountain Corporation has teamed up with Skelanimals to produce a new line of toys, collars, leashes, pet clothing, feeding dishes and bedding. These products will be made available at pet supply stores in the United States and Canada featuring the designs of cute and – get this – dead animals.

Yes, Hartz, the manufacturer of spot-on flea and tick products most likely to kill your cat or dog, as revealed by EPA reports from 2010,  have decided deceased animals are a “cute, yet edgy” way to represent their brand, as stated by Hartz’ Senior Director of Marketing for Toys and Accessories. With an appalling safety record spanning decades, numerous product recalls and a history of class-action lawsuit after class-action lawsuit among what are surely many more individual court cases and settlements, Hartz’ Senior Director of Marketing for Toys and Accessories may have a point.

Senior Director of Marketing for Toys and Accessories of Hartz Mountain Corporation, Suspected Press Photo

A portion of Skelanimal’s Twitter bio reads:

“Skelanimals are adorable animals who have met an untimely end due to their reckless behavior.”

Has Hartz finally embraced the truth?

Associates of Skelanimals reading this post may wish to peruse our Shenanigans page, as well as our Other Activists list to the right, for more examples of Hartz’ well-deserved bad reputation. Nice company to do business with, huh?

Additionally, despite our organization only having been in operation for five months, we already hear from victims of this shady manufacturer multiple times a week. The heartbroken stories are strikingly similar: they purchased a product thought to be safe, applied it to their family’s companion animal(s) as directed, noticed the animal suffering symptoms ranging from vomiting and diarrhea to seizures, and wished they had researched the product first. Some animals make a full recovery, but many do not and far too many die.

Enlightened by the harsh reality of the pain and suffering these products can cause, victims reach out to HartzVictims.org, us and others to confirm what we tell the world every day: Hartz flea and tick products are dangerous and have no place in the pet care market.

We also can’t help but notice the Skelanimals style looks awfully similar to Broken Hartz. This is ironic, seeing as how Hartz was so concerned about confusion in the marketplace between our organizations. What’s going on Hartz? Are you planning on launching a “Broken Hartz” line? We’re just curious.

Other Finds

• Be there or be square!
  October 15th is Worldwide Boycott Hartz Day. [Boycott Hartz Facebook]
• FDA: “Regulations do not allow for products to be removed based on consumer complaints alone.”
  Nearly 1,000 complaints and no recall in site for chicken jerky treats made in China because the FDA can’t figure out what’s wrong with them. [TIME]
  
• “Sorry your dog died from our product, here’s $100, sign and initial here.”
  The above mentioned chicken jerky treat manufacturers are also reportedly offering victims cash in exchange for silence. This “goodwill gesture” (pay off) and “standard release form” (liability waiver) is commonly experienced by Hartz victims as well. [Daily Mail]
• Are flea collars and dips dangerous for a dog or person’s health?
  YES. [Veria]

Save Lennox

• Lennox and the Lessons of BSL
  Rumpy Dog’s thoughts on Breed Specific Legislation. [RumpyDog]
• Lennox’s Crazy Dog Warden
  Doesn’t this person’s conduct make it obvious who has been right all along here? [Northern Country Gazette]
• 149,051 signatures and counting
  Sign the petition to Save Lennox. [Petition Online]

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

Related Articles from Broken Hartz

• Penny’s Finds #2
• Penny’s Finds #1
• Penny Fur Yer Thoughts

Penny’s Finds #2

Investagatuhs Penny, reportin fur dooties!

Meet mah new furriend Buttons.

OTC Flea/Tick Medication Suspected in Injury to “Cute as a button baby beagle”
Buttons, an adorable puppy taken in by STAR (Saving the Animals of Rowan), was found with terrible chemical burns to its back. One of STAR’s founding members, Julia, suspects the burn was likely caused by an over-the-counter flea and tick product. She would also like to remind the public over-the-counter flea and tick products are not as safe as those distributed by veterinarians. [Examiner]

Today is the day. Will Lennox finally go home?
After being on death row for two years, the courts will finally decide the fate of Lennox, the dog from Belfast who stole the world’s heart. [Examiner]

UPDATE: The court ruled Lennox is to be put down [BBC] and we (along with the rest of the world) have been going nuts about it on Twitter.

UPDATE: Lennox’s family has released a statement via the Save Lennox Facebook page:

“We would like to thank everyone for the countless messages that we have received in the last 24 hours during what is a very difficult time for our family and for the support we have had from so many since Lennox was seized in 2010. The past two years have been extremely distressing for many reasons and we appreciate that this has been a very emotive case for dog lovers worldwide who have spoken out against the failings of Breed Specific Legislation. We take some comfort in the knowledge that we are not the only ones to be devastated by the recent ruling. We are in talks with our legal team and will make another statement in due course.”

The Save Lennox Twitter account also posted a picture of this article stating Lennox is still alive:

Mystery Thief Steals More Than $1,000 in Flea and Tick Products from a PetSmart in Missouri
It ain’t us. [Patch.com]

In a seemingly unrelated case at a PetSmart in Orange County, Florida, two men were caught on surveillance tape stuffing $1,000 in flea and tick treatments down their pants. [ClickOrlando.com]

Is an Internet Bill of Rights on the Horizon?
Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Darrell Issa, the lawmakers responsible for the anti-SOPA/PIPA movement, say an Internet Bill of Rights is necessary to protect web users from censorship. [CNET]

On the subject of internet censorship, as many of you are aware, Broken Hartz is no stranger, seeing as how Hartz submitted a false infringement claim to Twitter as part of its attempts to censor us. We countered and won. To see other ways Hartz has tried to censor us, please see our Shenanigans page.

Flea and Tick Collars are Scary
Did you know flea and tick collars expose adult humans to 500 times what the Environmental Protection Agency considers to be a safe level of exposure for pesticides? For children it’s even worse, with levels reaching 1,000 times higher than the safety range. If you missed our article titled “Tetra-who-vin-what?”, be sure to check it out. We wrote in-depth about the dangers of Tetrachlorvinphos, an active ingredient in some flea and tick products. The following article is a good read and shares some of the same concerns about the dangers of these chemicals to animals and humans. [Examiner]

BlogPaws 2012, Brought to You By A-holes
I’ve seen a lot of chatter about the upcoming conference “BlogPaws” on Twitter and, after looking into it, I have some concerns. BlogPaws is a community for pet bloggers and animals lovers, as well as brands who wish to reach a target niche. BlogPaws’ movement “Be the Change” is about each of us doing our part to help animals. Though we are sure many who attend the BlogPaws conference are truly interested in educating people about animal issues, others are there for tips and techniques on how to make cash and get free crap for blogging about animals and reviewing products (see: shill). There are a few sponsors of the upcoming BlogPaws conference I am concerned about, but I’d like to point out three: the first is Purina, who refuses to recall its poisonous chicken jerky treats imported from China, followed by the dastardly duo, Hartz and Sergeant’s. I fear this conference lacks a discussion on ethics. [BlogPaws 2012 Sponsors]

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.

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Penny’s Finds #1

Hai, dis Penny.

Welcome to mah new weekly feature, “Penny’s Finds”. While on patrols, I often comes across tings dat is interestins, but may not be directly related to da missions. BH decided der was plenty of room in teh week for me to shares dis kind of stuffs anyway. Enjoys.

Dr. Peter Helmer: “They [over-the-counter flea and tick medications] are not as safe as the prescription products and you are going to spend a lot of money and we’re going to see you afterwards anyway”

Sentinel, a popular Veterinarian prescribed flea pill preventative, is on back-order. Dr. Helmer, a Veterinarian, is concerned animal parents will try over-the-counter flea and tick treatments in its absence, which he says are not as safe and more costly in the long-run. [10 News Tampa Bay]

Luka Magnotta taken into custody, Barbi Twins continue search for copycat killer

Two years ago, animal activists around the world worked tirelessly to identify alleged murderer Luka Rocco Magnotta and bring him to justice after several videos surfaced on YouTube of him brutally killing kittens, but police were busy with ‘more pressing matters’ until human body parts started turning up. Magnotta was taken into custody yesterday by German police after he was discovered Googling himself at an internet café in Berlin. However, animal advocates Sia and Shane Barbi continue the search for a copycat kitten killer still at large. [Examiner]

Dog dies after treatment with ProHeart 6 heart worm protection shot, Veterinarian’s professionalism called into question

A family recently lost their beloved dog and continue to search for answers. Read their story. [Justice for Jack]

“As a Hartz employee, you have the responsibility to ensure that our products are safe to use and that they meet or exceed our customers’ and our consumers’ expectations.”

Check out this Hartz training video. I feel much better now that I know they use hair nets. [Vimeo]

Veterinarian goes undercover to expose unethical sales of Merial’s Frontline

After being solicited by the aptly named WTF Wholesale Supply Corp, a Veterinarian-turned-secret-agent collects information on the slimy underworld of flea product brokers. [VIN News Service]

Poisonous chicken jerky treats will go away when people stop buying them

Despite receiving more than 800 complaints of dogs sickened due to chicken jerky treats and a growing grass-roots movement to have the products recalled, the tainted treats have remained on store shelves. When will the products be recalled? Steve Dale of the Chicago Tribune thinks the products will only be pulled when manufacturers stop profiting from them. [Chicago Tribune]

Here are some tips for what to do after your animal companion has been poisoned by pet food from Mollie at PoisonedPets.com. [Poisoned Pets]

Would you spray toxic chemicals on your lawn for a $40 gift card?

Despite warnings of possible danger to humans from environmental groups, 185 families in Maryland have volunteered to spray bifenthrin, a synthetic chemical derived from chrysanthemums, on lawns (yet again) for a continued controversial government Lyme disease study. The article mentions “keep pets away”. [PennLive]

Tanks to teh BH Warriors fur sending us tips and info. Do you haz news fur me? Meow at me on Twitter @bhpenny or email pennysfinds@gmail.com.