We hope you enjoyed reading our last post, “Mixed Messages”. We will be re-visiting that topic in today’s post thanks to the latest crap to come rolling down from the “mountain”.
So, Hartz is going to relieve consumer fears about buying the wrong products by offering their suggestions on what’s safe to use?
You probably know where this is going.
The system works like this. You tell Hartz if you have a cat or a dog, how old the animal is, how much it weighs and where you live in the United States. This “sophisticated” app takes all that data, analyzes it, gives you a coupon for good ole Hartz and makes a postcard for you to tell all your friends about the wonderful deal you just got on some reckless poison.
To be fair, the Care Station doesn’t always recommend Hartz. If you tell the app your animal is under the age or weight limit, it cautions you against using the products, employing cutesy animal graphics. Aww.
Of course, Hartz, has also accounted for the combination of underage and underweight at the same time! What attention to detail:
Okay, so, aside from the expected bias towards Hartz products, what’s the problem?
We’re glad you asked.
In our last post we revealed that Hartz has been sending out messages in direct opposition to their EPA approved labeling, specifically on the subject of age.
In this instance, the advice above matches with Hartz’ labeling, though Hartz does not go into nearly as much detail on what they consider elderly on their labels (but that’s a whole other post):
Keeping all this in mind, please watch the following video (for the record, you do not have to be logged in to Facebook to use this app and the music is our addition):
Yep. Although Hartz considers cats to be elderly at 7 years of age and they state on their labeling not to use the products on aged cats, they carelessly tell you to run out and choose from an assortment of Hartz flea & tick “treatments” and apply them to your cat of 10 or more years of age, well over the Company’s definition of “aged”.
If you’re wondering, the same results can be obtained if you select the “7-9 Years” option and, yes, the error occurs on the dog side of the fence too:
As soon as we saw news of this release, we made sure to let Hartz know what was coming:
With today’s post, we believe we delivered on that promise.
Since then, our boards have been growing, becoming ever more populated with supporter submissions. We’d like to share some of those submissions with you today.
This first piece comes from less of a BH Warrior and more of a BH Compatriot, HartzKills.org.
We’ve been absolutely thrilled by the level of attention we’ve received from this excellent Hartz protest website that’s been in operation for years, but when this graphic was created in honor of our 13-day Twitter trend, we were over the moon!
Next up, we have a submission from one of our longest standing, strongest supporters; Lulu (@Lulu_Lindi on Twitter). Lulu’s involvement in our mission has earned her the title of BH Ambassador.
Continuing, the revelation Skelanimals has partnered with Hartz prompted active Hartz opponent, Boycott Hartz (found on Facebook and Twitter) to add the following graphic to its prolific body of protest compositions:
Though slightly newer to our mission; BH Warrior, Corina (@Rinarubee on Twitter), has made many contributions to the mission, including this important message for Hartz:
The last example of great Hartz Mountain Corporation protest art we will be sharing today comes from none other than BH Warrior, Guye (@Di_sss on Twitter). When it comes to BH Warrior art, Guye is the grandfather. He pretty much launched the artistic wing of our mission all on his own, inspiring us and others to follow suit. Here is just one of his many excellent creations:
Thank you to everyone out there that keep making Hartz Mountain Corporation protest art to add to the collection. Art has a way of reaching people in a manner other forms of communication cannot and, in the war against Hartz, we believe artistic expression will continue to play a strong role in achieving our goal.
A few weeks ago we were contacted by a Hartz victim in Canada who had applied Hartz Ultraguard One Spot Treatment for Cats and Kittens on two cats. Both of these cats reacted to the product with neurological issues. Chewie, sadly, did not survive:
“We euthanized him after a 20 minute grand mal seizure. We couldn’t even hold him in the room. My boyfriend and I had to go to Chewie in the lab while one girl held him down. The vet said ‘touch his head, tell him you love him, and let’s do this quickly’. It was the worst thing I’ve ever witnessed an animal go through.” – Hartz Victim
Hartz may wish to deny this video, pointing out the public has no way of knowing what product or brand was used, if any, or if the individual that contacted us was just making the whole thing up for no other reason than to try and pin another death on poor old Hartz.
While it’s true we have not met this individual face-to-face, those familiar with our blog should be aware we know our way around the internet and are not in the habit of accepting claims at face value. Immediately upon contacts of this nature, our team of investigators search for corroborating evidence.
Through research, we discovered:
The name given checks out as a real name of a person living in the specific city in Canada this individual claims as their residence.
Through IP address confirmation, this individual reached out to us from the specific city in Canada in which they claim to reside.
Unknown to the individual, they confirmed personal, anecdotal information we had already discovered about the individual this person claims to be.
Additionally, this individual, aside from the video, has provided:
Photos of the Hartz Ultraguard One Spot Treatment for Cats and Kittens package, claimed by this individual to be the culprit. This demonstrates the correct species product was used:
The correct Health Canada number (26491) for the Hartz product claimed to be the culprit (This product matches up with US product EPA #2596-147, used by our affiliates)
A phone number where this individual can be reached
The case number Hartz assigned to this complaint after the victim contacted them
Photos of Veterinarian notes on the case of Chewie:
Additionally, this individual has used their actual name through all correspondences with both us and Hartz. They would have gone to great lengths in order to stage what they claim has occurred and, in our opinion, their story more than sufficiently checks out. By the end of this post, we think you’ll agree.
As we’ve already mentioned, this individual contacted Hartz:
“The first thing the Hartz guy said was ‘I’d hate to think there was some sort of cross contamination or worse, if the wrong product was in the wrong packaging’. I thought that was a pretty random thing to say…” – Hartz Victim
In the following screenshot, you’ll see the individual in question reiterated what Hartz said on the phone to the Company’s Facebook account. The Hartz Facebook team made no attempt to dispute that claim:
You’ll notice in this particular screenshot, at the beginning of corresponding with Hartz, the victim had hopes this would get resolved appropriately, though doubts were already forming. Regarding this conversation, the victim says:
“At this time I was still very upset and did not want to fight, I wanted answers. As you can see, I didn’t get one.” – Hartz Victim
Moving on, you’ll notice in the Veterinarian’s notes above, they assert an opinion that Chewie suffered from what appears to be Permethrin poisoning. There is not supposed to be any Permethrin in Hartz Ultraguard One Spot Treatment for Cats and Kittens (2.9% Methoprene), though it is found in Hartz Ultraguard One Spot Treatment for Dogs and Puppies (2.9% Methoprene, 45% Permethrin).
You’ll also note, in the screenshots above, a toxicologist was consulted who supports the Veterinarian’s opinion concerning this case. It resembles Permethrin poisoning (or some other toxic exposure) despite there being no indication on the packaging of Permethrin’s presence or anything other than Methoprene, an Insect Growth Regulator, widely accepted to be safe.
Because of this, the toxicologist inquired if there was a dog in the house that may have been treated with a Permethrin product or some other toxic substance. The veterinarian consulted with the Hartz victim, then noted:
“Called [Hartz Victim]. Discussed info from toxicologist. Confirmed dog in house, however, he was treated with Revolution (Selamectin)”
Revolution is an FDA-Approved Animal Drug, for use on both cats and dogs. As the Veterinarian notes, Revolution contains Selamectin, which kills fleas and flea eggs, along with treating for mites and a variety of worms. It does not match the profile of a possible culprit in this case.
The Veterinarian and toxicologist’s findings followed in line with the Hartz representative’s readily-offered suspicion that perhaps Permethrin was mistakenly placed into Hartz’ cat packaging, causing the death of Chewie.
This prompted the individual in question to post these notes from their Veterinarian on Hartz’ Facebook wall:
After posting this information on Hartz’ Facebook wall, the individual in question reached out to us.
Here is where this already interesting case takes an even more interesting spin.
“Vet AND Toxicologist agree. The symptoms, timing of onset, even reputation of this product and brand – the only conclusion is that Hartz killed my cat The lab tech even said ‘we see this all the time’” – Hartz Victim
“This picture lasted exactly 7 minutes on the Hartz fb page before someone deleted it” – Hartz Victim
This was followed up privately shortly thereafter with the following revelation:
“I went back and it’s there!! People even slammed them in the comments… so weird. So I posted it, it was removed… then re-appeared?
I asked them in a public forem for a written apology [:)]
*forum
Can you see it from your page?” – Hartz Victim
No, we could not see it from our page, nor could we see it using various control methods.
Clearly, there was a discrepancy.
Here is a portion of what the Hartz Victim (represented in black) was seeing:
Here is what we were able to see:
So, it became apparent we were witnessing a different Hartz tactic. This tactic is a bit more advanced than Hartz’ typical course of action: deletion.
The flaw in this plan is people really don’t take kindly to a product that causes them to inadvertently sicken, injure or kill those they love.
These kinds of people have a habit of finding each other and uniting. Through that, there were individuals watching this case unfold from both sides of the privacy setting, exposing Hartz’ intent to lure this victim into thinking this comment had been left in the public domain when it had, in fact, been hidden.
Unfortunately for Hartz, this individual (represented in black) was on to them.
In the screenshot above, the victim states:
“Isn’t this form a good DM as it is only visable [sic] to some people?” – Hartz Victim
“time dated screen shots from another computer show this is not a public message.” – Hartz Victim
To this, a Hartz Facebook “prisoner”, probably long forgotten, made themselves known:
“[Hartz Victim], Hartz removed this picture from their page, so it’s no longer visible to the public. Basically, they don’t want others to know about how dangerous their products are so they can keep making a profit. Sad.” – [Name Removed]
The likelihood something of this nature would be limited to one package is highly unlikely and we hope Hartz is taking a close look at what is happening with Health Canada product #26491, though we are not holding our breath.
The individual in question makes one last point on this posting, regarding Hartz’ request for contact information:
“Hartz has all my info and has been able to ‘reach out’ to me at any time.” – Hartz Victim
It has been days now since the individual in question called Hartz out on their Facebook grouping tactic, with no response:
“I believe I am just being ignored.” – Hartz Victim
We notice Hartz has removed a comment since the time of our last entry. We have accented the comment in question in the following screenshot from June 27, 2012:
Here is a susbsequent screenshot, taken on June 30, 2012, showing Hartz’ decision to remove the comment, which had received 5 “likes”:
“Don’t use Hartz. It’s terrible for your pets” – [Name Removed]
Upon closer inspection, we noticed this posting consists of 7 comments, even though a Facebook glitch notes 10 comments in the preview of this posting:
It would appear Hartz has removed 2 other comments before we got any screenshots of this posting.
It would seem Hartz has taken issue with all those speaking out against them and decided to make a public statement.
Of course, by “public statement” we mean “a statement made strictly within the confines of Hartz’ own Facebook page where they choose to block/delete commenting from us, other activists, countless Hartz victims and surely many, many others”:
The screenshot above shows a recent conversation on Hartz’ Facebook timeline. In it, a person asks for a comment from Hartz on recent photos and videos they have seen of animals having reactions, ranging from burns to death, due to Hartz products.
To this, Hartz responds:
“We understand how worrying stories and negative websites could be to a pet parent. There are many false stories and incorrect information out on the internet and other forms of media. So many stories and situations involve misuse of the products, such as layering multiple products, or involve products that are not even made by Hartz Mountain Corporation.
All flea and tick control products applied topically, whether sold over the counter or through a veterinarian, must be tested for safety and efficacy prior to registration with the EPA for marketability. Since Hartz Mountain is in the pet-product industry, the safety and well being of your pet is of extreme importance to us and each product is marketed with this in mind.
We stand behind all of our products and appreciate the time you have taken to contact us. For more information on Hartz Brand Flea & Tick products, please refer to http://www.HartzUltraGuard.com.”
This statement is junk.
Hartz tries to claim we, other activists, countless Hartz victims, various media outlets, the Humane Society, EPA, FDA, NRDC, reputable Veterinarians and others have all got it wrong. To back this up, all Hartz cites is one of their own websites, HartzUltraGuard.com. This website is essentially Hartz’ Facebook Flea & Tick Education Tab, which we have already thoroughly discussed.
Attention Hartz Mountain Corporation, you claim everyone but you has got it wrong, but you present no proof of your claims.
If you feel we are unjustly hurting your reputation, we wish to remind you comments have been enabled on our blog since day one.
You have always been free to speak up and debate us but, up until now, have been noticeably silent.
We strongly encourage you to comment on that which you find false.
We’d like to return to the subject of Alex Gweneth from 5W Public Relations, willing lackey and outrageous shill for Hartz Mountain Corporation. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Gweneth and his role in this ugly affair, please read this article first.
Since having been exposed for fraud, Mr. Gweneth has been quite busy. Is he running around correcting inaccuracies we’ve exposed?
No, of course not. Hartz does not fix problems.
Instead; Hartz Mountain Corporation, through Mr. Gweneth, has decided to continue peddling their overwhelmingly fraudulent claim that their flea treatment products for cats cause no adverse reactions:
This author bio can be found at the bottom of every one of Alex Gweneth’s Ewagz.com articles as well as his author page. As you can see Mr. Gweneth has posted 7 more articles, on Ewagz.com alone, since we last checked in on him.
Mr. Gweneth has been hard at work spreading more Hartz crap all over the internet but, today, we’d like to highlight some older posts by Mr. Gweneth, which were not covered in our previous exposé. These articles have been left in their entirety in the interest of preserving their “integrity”.
In this first piece, you’ll see Mr. Gweneth performing his usual routine of fear-mongering, followed by claims attempting to mislead potential consumers into thinking Hartz is a trusted brand, complete with a false statement that these products are well known to produce minimal adverse reactions over the years.
“With [sic] arrival of summers [sic], most pet owners start to worry about the measures they need to take to protect their pets from the menace of fleas and ticks. Once fleas ride into your home and start laying eggs in the fur of your pet, getting rid of them is not an easy task. Even if you manage to kill the adult fleas, the eggs hatch and you have a completely new generation of fleas ready to suck your beloved pet white. However, pet owners, [sic] who have been using the [sic] Hartz Flea & Tick Control products for years, [sic] are well aware that these high quality products are completely safe and effective in protecting their beloved pets from the various troubles caused by these small parasites.
Hartz flea & tick control products are rendered [??] least toxic and safe for direct use on animals by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Numerous pet owners, [sic] who have been using the [sic] Hartz products on their pets over the years, [sic] have confirmed that these products cause minimum adverse reactions or allergies on animal skin. The dedication of Hartz to ensure pet production [??] and their passion ensure the happiness of pets combined with their years of experience in manufacturing pet care products definitely provides them with an advantage over other pet care product manufacturing brands. [The preceding sentence is simply a grammatical nightmare. Try not to let your head explode.]
The people at Hartz are well aware of the intense bonding that most pet owners have with their pets. So, the company strives hard to provide products that can ensure to make this relationship even healthier and fun filled. They utilize the latest technologies and innovative ideas of their researchers in creating pet care products, including flea and tick control treatments that will ensure a healthier, happier and longer life for them. In order to serve their customers in a better manner, Hartz has established strategic partnerships with leading research and educational organizations that help the company in developing new and better products for pet care.
Hartz is a premium brand of pet care products which has been catering to pets includes [sic] dogs, cats, parrots, finches, goldfish, tropical fish, reptiles, chinchillas, guinea pigs, hamsters and rabbits etc. for over 80 years. Hartz flea & tick control treatments happens to be amongst [sic] the most popular creations of this 1,500 products strong Company.
To know more about the [sic] Hartz flea & tick control products and check out their entire range of the [sic] products, log on to [??] http://www.hartz.com/”
This next piece is filled with more crazy nonsense.
The act of burning the vacuum bag afterwards is even more dangerous if one has chosen to utilize Hartz Carpet Powder as Mr. Gweneth suggests. We do not imagine burning off pesticides is a good idea.
More disturbingly, this article seems to be running the risk of causing the possibility of overexposure to these pesticides by suggesting such a fierce and multi-tiered plan of action, when the simple acts of vacuuming and laundering would probably suffice.
“Winning the war against fleas and ticks requires preparation and research. These nasty creatures not only live off their host by sucking their blood day in and day out but also act as carriers of deadly diseases and parasites such as tapeworms. The itchy whelps [sic] they leave behind on the skin of their host are both unsightly and [sic] nuisance. Don’t for a moment believe, [sic] that they are [sic] threat to only your cats, dogs, or hamsters, these little beasts can easily choose you for their next ride.
How you make sure that your pets and your home are free from parasites is entirely up to you. But you are not alone in your crusade against these tiny brutes as Hartz flea & tick prevention products help you to eliminate them and keep [sic] away for good.
There is nothing to be embarrassed about if your home gets infested with fleas.
While it is not a reflection on the cleanliness of your home, remedying the problem may require you to take action on several fronts. Along with treating your pets with various Hartz Flea & Tick control products like Hartz Flea & Tick Shampoo, Hartz Flea & Tick Collars and Hartz Flea & Tick Drops etc. you should thoroughly vacuum your home and burn the bag afterwards. Hartz Flea & Tick Carpet Powder would [sic] help you to eliminate any remaining flea eggs and prevent fleas from returning. Don’t forget to wash any bedding your pet lays on, including your own bed if it is in the habit of snuggling with you.
Treat your yard while you’re at it, if you want your efforts to be truly fruitful. If they are out there, they will find a way to ride in. If you are trying to deal with a really bad infestation, it may take several treatments at one go and several repetitions before you can be sure that you have wiped out the buggers completely.
Hartz is a premium brand of pet care products which has been catering to pets includes [sic] dogs, cats, parrots, finches, goldfish, tropical fish, reptiles, chinchillas, guinea pigs, hamsters and rabbits etc. for over 80 years. Hartz flea & tick control treatments happens to be amongst [sic] the most popular creations of this 1,500 products strong Company.
To know more about the, [sic] Hartz flea & tick products and check out their entire range, log on to [??] http://www.hartz.com/”
We’d like to conclude today’s post by addressing a piece Alex Gweneth did about Hartz’ Facebook Flea & Tick Education Tab. It should come as no surprise the piece is garbage, concluding with these sentences:
“With an extensive set of information about Hartz products, common dog and cat flea problems, news and updates, everything is right at the fingertips of concerned pet owners. It may be all that pet parents need to keep their four-legged friends happy and healthy during any season.”
Though Hartz would like very much to be the only resource consumers utilize, given the wealth of inaccuracies we’ve found on their Facebook Flea & Tick Education Tab, we think the public would be better off consulting the EPA and reputable Veterinarians.
In conclusion, Mr. Gweneth’s postings since our first piece have been a bit more careful, but we’re sure he’ll give us something more to talk about in the future.
WARNING: THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS A GRAPHIC IMAGE
It’s become pretty clear to the members of our organization that Hartz Mountain Corporation has made Facebook one of its primary tools of deception.
Hartz not only uses Facebook to mislead the public with its Flea & Tick Education Tab, which we’ve already addressed, but they make some other very interesting claims when dealing directly with the public on this popular social media network.
The following graphic image is reported to be of a dog burned by a Hartz flea product.
It has been shared all over Facebook, including our wall:
As you can see, with 55 likes, 279 comments and 849 shares; the picture above has created a huge amount of interaction in relation to our small organization, but did you know this picture has made its way to Hartz’ Facebook account as well?
With no likes, no shares and only 3 comments, you may be surprised to learn we find Hartz’ interaction to be more interesting than ours:
The comments in the picture above read as follows, with emphasis on an unexpected “revelation”:
[Facebook User]:
“THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU USE HARTZ FLEA PRODUCTS!!!!! DO NOT USE HARTZ PRODUCTS!!!!”
Hartz:
“Hi [Facebook User]. We hold our products to the strictest efficacy and safety standards by the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration. If there is no animal standard in place, we hold our products to human standards. In fact, all Hartz flea and tick products are held to the same safety and efficacy testing standards as those purchased from veterinarians. Hartz was one of the first brands to comply with EPA standards when the agency was first established. You can find links to independent studies about our products here: https://www.facebook.com/HartzPets/app_204655519608631. If you would like to speak more about this issue, we encourage you to email us at consumeraffairs@hartz.com.”
[Facebook User]:
“Then explain the photo….. This is [sic] burns from your product.”
[Facebook User]:
“I have workedin.vet [sic] clinics for years and your products are not safe. Please stop producing flea and tick solution, for our pets sake!”
Hartz had no further comment but, as you can see from the portion we highlighted in the screenshot above (and emphasized in the quote), it would appear Hartz is overdue for some congratulations.
Way to go, Hartz.
We didn’t realize your flea and tick products had received FDA-Approval.
We’re not sure how we missed this, though we suspect it has something to do with the fact you are lying through your collective teeth because no Hartz flea products carry FDA-Approval.
Please add this intentionally misleading statement to the ever-increasing list of shameless lies Hartz has fed the public in an effort to maintain control through misinformation.
Broken Hartz has explained its method previously (if you haven’t read it, please do), but we’d like to expand on this subject.
After completing our research regarding Hartz’ Executive Summary, Broken Hartz affiliates discussed the best way to get this message to the public. The sad truth is, our message is very depressing and the information being presented is tedious and complicated.
Our response to Hartz was very clinical.
As damning as the evidence we had was, it did not make for interesting reading. We needed to make this information attention-grabbing if we were to have a chance of communicating with the public.
Thankfully, this is where Broken Hartz excels!
Our affiliates, among other skills, represent the Graphic, Web and Multimedia Arts. Additionally, we work as communications experts in Marketing Departments and actively use social media in a professional capacity.
TIME OUT
Okay, Okay. many of you in the BH camp are probably screaming:
“Say it ain’t so, BH! Are you really guilty of working in Marketing?”
It’s true, we are, however the companies BH affiliates work for do not conduct themselves unethically nor do they engage in heavy-handed Marketing efforts.
Lastly, we have turned these hated powers into weapons of good against Hartz, so there.
TIME IN
We are quite familiar with this arena.
We know the rules.
We know how to fight back.
This is the main reason Hartz, Banyan Branch and 5W Public Relations, led by the nasty parasite, Ronn Torossian (That is not a typo, Ronn really spells his name with two “N”s), have had such a difficult time dealing with us despite the fact we have invested $0 in this effort.
How much have you spent, Hartzy?
By the way, don’t just take our word for it, Here are screenshots to prove these companies are behind Hartz’ Social Media/Marketing efforts. We’ve made sure to highlight another company supported by 5W Public Relations as well. Many animal rights activists will quickly understand why we have chosen to do so at this time.
If you're an animal rights activist, don't forget to check out who else 5W Public Relations assists.
Hartz is in so much need right now, Banyan Branch has them splashed all over their home page.
Moving on, after completing our response to Hartz, we launched our counterattack to their socially-inept media campaign.
Our goal is to take Hartz to the Court of Public Opinion where they will be found guilty.
Reformulation is no longer an option.
Hartz and Dr. Melinda Fernyhough, the Vet who cried “Safe and Effective” are never to be trusted again.
Hartz Mountain Corporation will have no choice but to shut down.
The Broken Hartz mission has broken down in the following manner:
Step 1 – Servicemark
Man, did that pay off! We knew a good mark would assist with recognition as our message expanded, but we had not foreseen how crucial this step would be in providing legal protection from Hartz’ counters to our actions. As we later revealed, Penny is the affiliate responsible for this little gem.
Step 2 – Start WordPress Blog
The blog is our passion! We started it while working on the Summary to get our feet wet. Scaling back from our daily posting schedule was tough, but necessary to allow other branches of the mission to flourish.
Step 3 – Twitter
The information was there. Now we had to advertise. As with the blog, we started our Twitter account before submitting our Summary to Rite Aid. We immediately began tweeting at Hartz, but, from our blog views, they didn’t seem to take notice.
Step 4 – Jazz Up the Summary
It’s still tedious, but definitely entertaining. The day Rite Aid Senior Counsel finally clued Hartz in as to what we had been up to, our blog views spiked!
Clearly, we had gotten someone’s attention.
We had been reveling in their phony EPA article being witnessed by the public in all its glory for those four days before Hartz deleted it! That’s a very interesting, often overlooked, post. Be sure to check it out.
Step 5 – Get Loud, Very Loud
Hartz was on to us, so it was time to get as loud as possible on Twitter.
Step 6 – The Expansion.
It was time to spread the message, but there was a problem.
Step 7 – The Infringement Battles
Step 6 led to the discovery of Hartz’ “response” to our actions. This was a brilliant chapter in the BH mission in which Hartz was handed three sound beatings (on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest) thanks to Penny’s servicemark and our collective knowledge of how to defend it.
This also led to a huge spike in exposure and interest in our cause.
Thanks, Hartz!
Step 8 – Let Loose the Visuals
BH had been including graphics in posts for a while. They readily appeared in Google searches but we weren’t communicating a visual message beyond that point.
This changed when @Di_sss took it upon himself to create clever visuals and distribute them over Twitter. This rallied BH to get a move on and attend to this important avenue of communication that we had been relatively ignoring.
To be clear, @Di_sss is not an official BH affiliate. He is a compatriot that has taken up the cause in a most inspiring way. His contributions have not only added to the BH message on Twitter, but have been shared on our Pinterest, Facebook and YouTube pages as well.
Thank you for providing great content all on your own, Guye.
Your unique methods paved the way for the release of our “We Iz Anonymous Cats” video as well as drove us to creating “Melinda Wants Money“. We’re sure Mel just loves that one.
A picture is worth a thousand words and a video is worth tens of thousands of pictures.
Look Mel, you’re going to be a superstar!
Continuing
People don’t seem to readily care about this topic unless they are animal activists or have been affected themselves.
We welcome these individuals with open arms. They are a great boon to our mission, but our true goal is to reach those who are neither.
We seek to rally the disengaged public before this happens to them, but there are a lot of people talking on the internet and getting them interested in what one small organization has to say is difficult.
This is why we have taken our aggressively cutting and sarcastic approach to Hartz.
We have slowly built on this idea, in an attempt to make Hartz a laughing stock. We want all to readily associate Hartz Mountain Corporation as a joke. A pathetic excuse for a company that everyone knows to avoid.
Despite the joking, we make sure to always speak truth. It is our only protection and all that we need.
We make every effort to speak carefully, in our own crazy way.
For instance, Broken Hartz refrains from recommending any flea products, but simply asks people to speak with a reputable Veterinarian.
It’s not that we don’t have an opinion on the matter, we just really want to drive the point home that people should check with a reputable Vet before putting anything on an animal.
Some products are safer than others depending on certain variables and sometimes reputable products have counterfeits available online, making the whole matter more complicated.
There are even many organic solutions available but, again, we ask you to first speak with a reputable Veterinarian.
You may notice individuals supporting the BH mission mentioning their own product preferences but, these individuals are not official members of Broken Hartz and their opinions should not be attributed to us.
Followers are always free to state their own thoughts and recommendations even if BH has a differing opinion.
You are individuals with your own voices.
We are not responsible for what you have to say and, more importantly, you are not responsible for anything we say.
Nevertheless, we wish to announce the creation of our BH Warrior Kit page.
There, you will find many useful tools to aid you in joining our cause, should you wish to avail yourself of them.
The Truth Week page is now up so, if you missed any parts in this series, that’s the place to go.
Broken Hartz has experienced a power surge as we keep bringing the hurt to Hartz.
Our Twitter campaign is growing rapidly, thanks in no small part to the overwhelming devotion of our #BHwarriors, the creativity and resourcefulness of our #BHambassador (@lulu_lindi) and the amusing tweets of our newly-crowned #BHcomic, @LVBarracuda.
In addition to that, Broken Hartz is thrilled to find long-time @BrokenHartzPets Followers, famous Playboy Playmates turned animal activists, @Barbi_Twins have gotten more involved with the cause.
We’re sure Hartz has seen our growth and, combined with the Facebook and Pinterest defeats we handed them last week, we feel it safe to assume they are not too happy about how this little war is going. Of course, if our struggling foe knew of all our endeavors, they’d have given up long ago.
What you see is only a fraction of the mission, Hartz.
We are always on the prowl.
We are always watching you.
We have seen more.
Due to the sharp growth and interaction we’ve experienced, Broken Hartz will be taking some time to assess the situation, complete some current investigations (while launching new ones) and dedicate some much needed time to other branches of the BH mission.
We will continue to maintain our presence on Twitter but, until further notice, the Broken Hartz blog will be adopting a Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday posting schedule.
If you haven’t already, this may be a great time to go back through our posts and catch up.
The Broken Hartz juggernaut continues to make a molehill out of Hartz Mountain.
This beautiful little email found its way to our account today from the good folks at Pinterest.com, regarding our infringement claim against Hartz:
“[Pinterest] Trademark Complaint ID #1580153031
On Tuesday, March 20, 2012 at 2:12 PM, [Pinterest Community Manager] wrote:
Hi,
The username “brokenhartzpets” is available now.
If you choose to change your username on your existing account, go to https://pinterest.com/settings when you’re logged in to edit your username. Then click Save Profile when you’re finished.
Hope that helps!
[Pinterest Community Manager]
Readers, it appears the scoreboard is in need of another update:
Broken Hartz – 3
Hartz Mountain Corporation – 0
The page is now populated with excellent BH content but, we’ll always have the screenshot below to enjoy Hartz Mountain Corporation’s shame!
Here's what happens when you mess with Broken Hartz! This page has now been populated with all things BH but, thanks to this screenshot, we'll always be able to have a good laugh at Hartz.
Broken Hartz wishes to thank all those who have helped our mission. We love our Twitter Followers, led by our tenacious #BHambassador.
Every time our #BHwarriors speak up, we watch our blog views rise.
Our message would never have spread as far or as fast without your support.
Broken Hartz is humbled by the level of devotion you have shown to the mission but, to be fair, our #BHwarriors haven’t done all the work.
Your criminal acts continue to amplify our message, Hartz.
Your attempts to silence us have forced internet giants Twitter and Facebook, as well as the quickly-growing Pinterest, to listen to our message. Their collective response of support shows the tide is turning.
Hartz Mountain Corporation’s decision to try shutting us down rather than even daring to respond directly has been quite telling. More importantly, this action has caused a deafening amplification of the issue.
We couldn’t have asked for anything more! Thanks, Hartzy!
Make no mistake, this nasty little beast has been hurt bad by this move and it’s about to get bitten again.
Yes, Hartz has gone and infringed on the Broken Hartz servicemark again by squatting on our rightful Facebook page.
At the beginning of our campaign, Broken Hartz staff discussed Facebook but chose to come back to this front at a later date. Let the people “Whack the Crate” (“Whack the Crate” was a Hartz Facebook Game, which was available at the time of this post, but no longer is.) we said.
We have been keeping an eye on this page and, for that reason, are keenly aware Facebook.com/BrokenHartzPets was still available just a short while ago.
It was our turn to fill out a complaint.
Those of you familiar with the Broken Hartz style will find humor in our dismay at what Facebook calls a complaint form. This form doesn’t allow for much detail or claims of extenuating circumstances and asks for private information, which we had to dance around in order to get the form to submit in the first place.
What little information we could communicate caused some understandable confusion on the part of the Facebook team, leaving them with questions as to what the hell Broken Hartz was talking about.
At least we had gotten their attention.
What follows is the entire correspondence as it currently stands. Facebook has not responded yet, but we sent it to them in the middle of the night so we’re going to let that slide.
On Monday, March 12, 2012 at 1:29 PM, The Facebook Team wrote:
Hi,
We are writing to get additional details so that we can better understand your recent report. From the information you have provided, it appears that you may be trying to allege an infringement of your trademark rights. If that is not the case, please let us know what rights you do believe are being violated or infringed (including reference to applicable statutes, if possible).
If you are indeed intending to allege trademark infringement, we would be happy to follow up but need additional information. If you wish us to follow up, please provide the following:
Your full name
If you are acting on behalf of a corporation or other organization that is the holder of the trademark rights, provide a description of that entity and your relationship to it
A description of the trademark that you allege is being infringed
An explanation of the basis for your trademark rights in any countries in which you wish to claim rights, by providing (A) and/or (B) below:
(A) If you have one or more trademark registrations, please provide the:
Country or countries of registration
Registration number(s)
(B) If you do not have a trademark registration or you are additionally asserting common law rights:
Please explain your basis for asserting trademark rights
In what country or jurisdiction are you asserting rights?
Description of your use of the trademark in commerce, including description of the goods/services covered by the trademark
After providing your registration information and/or explanation of common law rights, please also explain how you believe the reported content is likely to cause confusion as to source, sponsorship, or affiliation, or otherwise infringes your rights.
Thank you for helping us better understand your report. We take intellectual property rights seriously and would be happy to look into this matter further upon receiving the requested information.
Sincerely,
[Facebook Team Member]
User Operations
Facebook”
Here is the response from Broken Hartz to Facebook. You’ll notice a few similarities to our Twitter response, naturally:
On Monday, March 15, 2012 at 12:31 AM, Broken Hartz wrote:
Hello [Facebook Team Member],
Thank you for contacting our organization regarding this matter. We also placed a Username infringement report, which is being handled by [Facebook Team Member] (User Operations). Please apply this response to both claims.
The Broken Hartz mission was began in direct protest to the corrupt actions of Hartz Mountain Corporation. Members of our organization experienced an issue with a Hartz flea product in mid-January.
Our affiliate made a complaint to Rite Aid Corporation, the distributor who sold them the Hartz product.
Despite being provided numerous factual details from the EPA and others regarding the unsafe nature of these products, Rite Aid Corporation dismissed our affiliate’s claims. Throughout the course of this discussion, a document from Hartz’ Resident Veterinarian, Dr. Melinda Fernyhough, was eventually submitted to our affiliate.
This document was filled with bold lies, including lies about the FDA-approved status of Hartz’ competitor products, as well as lies about the EPA’s findings regarding their Public Advisory published in March 2010.
In response to this action, we have exercised our constitutional right to protest against this unscrupulous manufacturer.
Rights to the Broken Hartz servicemark were attained naturally with the launch of BrokenHartz.Wordpress.com and the @BrokenHartzPets Twitter account on January 22nd 2012.
The Broken Hartz servicemark is a suggestive mark and the service being provided is vital public safety information about Hartz Mountain Corporation’s negligent products.
A suggestive mark evokes or suggests a characteristic of the underlying good/service. For example, the word “Coppertone” is suggestive of sun-tan lotion, but does not specifically describe the underlying product. Some exercise of imagination is needed to associate the word with the underlying product. At the same time, however, the word is not totally unrelated to the underlying good/service.
The Broken Hartz servicemark consists of the broken heart graphic and the words “broken hartz”. The broken heart suggests the pain and sorrow caused by decades of neglect by Hartz Mountain Corporation. The words “broken hartz” make Nominative use of Hartz Mountain Corporation’s trademark in order to directly identify the corporation being protested as well as to suggest the message that Hartz Mountain Corporation is guilty of breaking many, many hearts through their wanton disregard for animal welfare.
Suggestive marks are inherently distinctive, being afforded a high degree of protection.
Hartz has already tried to shut us down on Twitter due, in part, to our Nominative use of the Hartz Mountain Corporation trademark.
While Broken Hartz acknowledges we have exercised Nominative use of Hartz Mountain Corporation’s trademark, in accordance with Trademark/Servicemark law, there is an allowance for Nominative use.
Nominative use occurs when use of a term is necessary for purposes of identifying another producer’s product, not the user’s own product.
It is crucial to the Broken Hartz mission to ensure the public knows the information provided directly correlates to Hartz Mountain Corporation and its dangerous products.
Hartz Mountain Corporation is not readily identifiable without using the identifier, “Hartz” or, in the case of Twitter, “HartzPets”.
We have only used as much of Hartz’ trademark as is reasonably necessary to identify it. Our servicemark neither copies the font nor uses a similar font style, the orange color nor the rounded rectangle in the background that constitute the Hartz Mountain Corporation trademark.
There is clearly no suggestion of endorsement or sponsorship by Hartz Mountain Corporation.
We are not profiting in any way from the Nominative use of the Hartz trademark.
We believe we have fair, Nominative use of Hartz’ trademark as this is protected by our first amendment rights to protest. Our motive for creating the servicemark, Broken Hartz, and its affiliated Twitter page, @BrokenHartzPets, have been created to express customer dissatisfaction through the medium of the Internet.
When presented with this Nominative use defense to Hartz Mountain Corporation’s claims, Twitter agreed with us and saw fit to drop the matter.
It is clear we are not affiliated with Hartz and if anyone is infringing on the other’s trademark/servicemark, it is Hartz Mountain Corporation upon us.
Hartz Mountain Corporation is cybersquatting on the following domains (You may need to enter a CAPTCHA to view these):
In an effort to silence our right to protest, Hartz is clearly violating our servicemark. They sought to silence us on Twitter and now Broken Hartz comes to find they are already engaged in another unethical act by infringing on our rightful Facebook page.
In regards to your question concerning what countries we claim rights to, please see the attached screenshot, providing evidence of our blog’s international scope.
This image was the file attached to Broken Hartz' response to Facebook. It shows how far the Broken Hartz message has already spread in roughly two months.
Broken Hartz has already gained natural servicemark priority in 17 countries but, as you are no doubt aware, servicemark priority extends not only to the mark’s current reach, but to any geographic area in which the mark is likely to expand as well. Seeing as how our message is spread via the internet and we have already reached so many countries in such a very short time, we feel comfortable in claiming servicemark priority worldwide for Broken Hartz and Broken Hartz Pets.
Aside from the other points mentioned, this violation further serves to confuse the public by suggesting Broken Hartz Pets is in the business of pet supplies, which is wholly inaccurate, and the fact the page is not actually being used speaks volumes.
Whoever has laid claim to this page, it clearly is not us and our servicemark rights have been violated.
Lastly, we’d like to address your request for our personal information, specifically the Username Infringement Report follow-up’s request for our name, mailing address and phone number in order to resolve this matter, along with the warning that this information is routinely shared with the organization we are reporting.
As you can surely guess, anonymity is vital to our mission and therefore, we apologize but, we simply cannot grant this request, but we offer another way to prove we are indeed Broken Hartz.
We have sent you this email from our [provider removed] account, used for official correspondences, but you’ll notice our WordPress and Twitter accounts reference BrokenHartzPets@gmail.com. Please send your response to that email account. We will forward that email to our [provider removed] account and then respond to you. This will clearly prove we are the rightful owners of the Broken Hartz servicemark.
RT @paige_doss: @BrokenHartzPets Put Hartz collar on my adult cat. She spiked a high fever, lost clumps of fur, vomited, refused to eat, ... 3 months ago
Happy New Year to all who've supported our mission in some way, shape or form. Without all of you, we would never have a chance of success. 4 months ago
@Di_sss Thank you very much, Guye. We look forward to a great 2013 together! =^..^= 4 months ago
The lab tech even said ‘we see this all the time’” – Hartz Victim
