Click this link for the previous article in our Truth Week series: Truthfairy in the Great White North
We’d like to conclude Truth Week by reviewing comments left on HartzVictims.org by Truthfairy, Dr. Melinda Fernyhough and Dr. Marta Draper.
We are not sure if Dr. Draper is still with Hartz but, for the time period in which these comments were made, she was Hartz’ Vice President of Research And Development.
Here are five posts, in chronological order, made on this excellent website:
By: shannonbad
- “Here is the WhoIs info for Hartz’s purchase of Hartzvictims.com and Hartzvictims.net:
Administrative Contact , Technical Contact :
The Hartz Mountain Corporation
jboehm@hartz.com
400 Plaza Drive
Secaucus, NJ 07094
US
Phone: 201.271.4800
Hartz doesn’t have an email address contact info on their website (wonder why).
Email them and let them know what happened to your pet! Ask them why they are interfering with hartzvictims.org by purchasing related domain names.
- Write a complaint to the Better Business Bureau. Here is a link: http://newjersey.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=89&bbb=0221&firm=12001623
File a complaint with the BBB. If you can’t use the link then goto http://www.us.bbb.org and do an advanced search for “hartz” and use “Secaucus” (in the city field) and “NJ” (in the state field). Use Microsoft Word to check your word count (characters including spaces must be under 2030 characters).
- Contact your state consumer affairs division. Google it.
- File a complaint at the store where you got the product – insist on filing the complaint with a manager.
- Let everyone you know (friends, families, facebook, myspace, etc…) to AVOID Hartz products because they will harm/kill your pet. Don’t use the word “boycott” because that implies that you are objecting to Hartz products based on a political agenda. This is not political – this is a SAFETY issue!
- Here are some additional email addys I found for hartz:
cciciliano@hartz.com
mpetersen@hartz.com
questions@Hartz.com
legal@Hartz.com
ksandie@hartz.com
jcaperton@hartz.com
rdevine@hartz.com
mpeano@hartz.com
vzhou@hartz.com
qpwoei@hartz.com
larry@hartz.com
jobopps@hartz.com
maxmarx@hartz.com
aahn@hartz.com
jrichardson@hartz.com
- Keep all the receipts for Vet care. Have your Vet give you a written diagnosis. Make sure it states he feels the use of the product is the cause of the animals need for the current medical treatment or death. Photo copy this and add it to all written complaints you send.
- * File a complaint/report with Hartz at 1-800-275-1414 Follow that with written complaints to the following:
HARTZ Contacts
Consumer Relations Department
The Hartz Mountain Corporation
400 Plaza Drive Secaucus, NJ 07094 USA
Associate Director Consumer Relations and Technical Services The Hartz Mountain Corporation
- The Owners of Hartz
Sumitomo Corporation of America (SCOA)
Atsushi Nishijo Executive Vice President General Manager for the Americas
Director & President, Sumitomo Corporation of America
There Amerciacn offices- New York (Headquarters)
Sumitomo Corporation of America
600 Third Avenue New York, NY 10016-2001
Tel: 212.207.0700 Fax: 212.207.0456
Web site http://www.sumitomocorp.com/ Email contact at http://www.sumitomocorp.com/contact.html
- * Make a report with the EPA National Pesticide Information Center (NPIC): 1-800-858-7378,
seven days a week excluding holidays, from 6:30 AM to 4:30 PM Pacific Time – or fax them on(514) 737-076 or send an email npic@ace.orst.edu (or do both)
You can write to the EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs at: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pesticide Programs (Mail Code 7509C) Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Washington, D.C. 20460
- Also file a report with Pesticides: Topically Applied External Parasiticides
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 800) 858-PEST
- Also contact your State EPA office to file a report.
- Write your government officials ask them to bring pressure on the EPA over the tremendous numbers of complaints filed over the years about animals being seriously injured and/or dead after this product being applied by humans that do read and follow the instructions. Include your State Attorney General and Consumer Protection advocates for your state.
- The members of the Senate Subcommittee on Consumer Affairs and Product Safety:
http://commerce.senate.gov/subcommittees/consumer.cfm
- The members of the House Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards:
http://www.house.gov/science/committeeinfo/members/environment/
- File a complaint and have your Vet do so also wite Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration at the web address: http://www.fda.gov/cvm/contactcvm/contactCVM.html and following a link for “Report a Drug Reaction”. You can also submit an adverse drug reaction to the Center for Veterinary Medicine by telephoning 1-888-332-8387.
- File complaints with the FDA
Animal Drugs, Devices and Foods
Veterinarians and animal owners may report adverse drug experiences to FDA by:
Telephoning the Center for Veterinary Medicine: 1-888-FDA-VETS
IMPORTANT:The identities all persons and animals is held in strict confidence by FDA and protected to the fullest extent of the law.The reporter’s identity may be shared with the manufacturer or distributor unless requested otherwise.
- File a complaint/report with:
Animal Biologics: Vaccines, Bacterins and Diagnostic Kits
U.S. Department of Agriculture (800) 752-6255
- Call your local Poison Control (see the front of your phone book) and make a report.
- The HSUS would also like to keep track of these cases. Please send your contact information, the product name, a brief description of the health problem, and a brief summary of your veterinarian’s findings to The HSUS at the following address:
The Humane Society of the United States Companion Animals Department: Flea Products 2100 L St. NW Washington, D.C. 20037
- Contact your local news stations, TV, radio, and newspapers about what Hartz did to your beloved companion.
- Make a written complaint to the main office of the store where you purchased the product from Do not give them the package until you’ve written down every number on it. Hartz and the store will ask you for the UPC code, the batch number and any other number they think of. The store may claim they need to test any remaining residues of the product you may have in the tube to see if it was a ‘bad batch.’ Let them, but only after you’ve gotten all the info off the box. Even if you don’t have the box or tube anymore, still make the complaint.
MAJOR PET SUPPLY RETAILERS
Petsmart Customer service email address custserv@SSG.PETsMART.com
1-800-738-1385, EXT 2518
PETsMART, Inc. 19601 North 27th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85027
Storehelp@petsmart.com
Corporate Address:
PETCO Animal Supplies, Inc. 9125 Rehco Road San Diego, CA 92121
Telephone Number:(858) 453-7845 Phone: 1-888-824-PALS(7257) (Monday – Friday: 7am – 6pm PST)
Email form http://www.petco.com/corpinfo_contact.asp?webt=0
Walmart too!
http://www.geocities.com/againsthartz/WhatUCanDo1.html”
First up for the Hartz team, Dr. Marta Draper:
In response to, “What You Can Do (Besides Lawsuit)”
By: Dr. Marta Draper on December 9th, 2008
“Dear Shannonbad,
I read your post and, in addition to other observations of inaccuracy, I noticed that many of the email addresses of Hartz employees are old or invalid and therefore I am providing below the relevant and updated email addresses of Hartz employees who can be of help to you. As the Vice President of Research & Development at Hartz, I take content posted to this site very seriously and want you and the readers of this site to know that I and my team of scientists, veterinarians and technicians are dedicated to providing safe products and I welcome pet owners to contact me directly at marta@hartz.com with any questions.
A couple other email addresses you may be interested in:
Nancy Moland, Manager, Consumer Affairs & Information Center at Nancy@hartz.com.
Dr. Melinda, Manager of Scientific Affairs via DrMelinda@hartz.com . She can also be reached via this online form: http://www.hartz.com/HUG/ask_dr_melinda.aspx
Or, you can call us at 1-800-275-1414.
Furthermore, in reading your statement, “avoid Hartz products because they will harm/kill your pet”, I realized that you may not be aware that Hartz has a long history of decades of safely managing flea and tick issues for domestic animals. In fact, the safety of our pets is the highest priority for me and everyone at Hartz. The active ingredient in our dog products, d-phenothrin, is considered and rated by the EPA to be among the safest available on the market, and just as safe as the products you can buy from the veterinarian. Similarly, the active ingredient in our Hartz Ultra Guard topical product for cats, etofenprox, has been given the highest safety rating by the EPA, with the lowest possible toxicity of any cat topical product available for sale today, either through your local mass merchandiser or from your vet. Simply put, our products are among the least toxic available.
If you have any other questions, please contact me.
Dr. Marta Draper”
Following this comment, a reader replies:
In response to, “What You Can Do (Besides Lawsuit)”
By: Trisha on December 28th, 2008
“Dr. Draper,
I understand that you believe your products to be safe, but you cannot ignore the heartbreaking stories, photos, and VIDEOS on this website. I can guarantee you that the distraught pet owners really do not give a hoot what the EPA says about etofenprox. It obviously needs to be re-evaluated. I am glad to hear you take the site seriously and that you have provided contact info, but I do not want to see ONE MORE PET die as a result of this POISONOUS product. I wish every pet owner could see this site, but its very existence is definitely a start. Dr. Draper, if you truly care about pets, you will TAKE THIS PRODUCT OFF THE MARKET to be reevaluated – and possibly – reformulated to meet better safety standards.
Sincerely,
Trisha Chokshi
trishachokshi@yahoo.com”
Two and a half years later, long after Dr. Marta Draper went back to her cave, another Hartz victim made this comment:
In response to, “What You Can Do (Besides Lawsuit)”
By: Jo Witt on July 29th, 2011
“The people at Hartz haven’t cared less about their Ultra Guard Flea & Tick Drops killing our dog. After providing them with the information they requested over a month ago, they became incognito after that. And our vet bills totaled over $909 trying to save our dog after his being poisoned by their drops.”
Broken Hartz wishes to point out:
Dr. Draper’s insulting introduction implies there are serious errors she wishes to address with shannonbad’s post, but she follows this up by only correcting some Hartz email address info, as if shannonbad being unaware of turnover at Hartz is something despicable.
The only other rebuttal made by Dr. Draper attempts to criticize shannonbad for not being aware of Hartz’ “long history of decades of safely managing flea and tick issues for domestic animals”.
Hartz has had a deplorable safety record since the eighties, riddled with injuries and deaths in countless beloved animals, human injuries, product recalls due to problematic formulations, product recalls due to mislabeling and product cancellations due to unsafe ingredients.
Lastly, Dr. Marta Draper does not specify not all Hartz Ultraguard products contain etofenprox. Ultraguard Pro and Ultraguard Plus contain etofenprox but Ultraguard OneSpot does not. It has always been formulated with (s)-Methoprene and its questionable inert ingredients.
To date, Hartz Mountain Corporation has not followed up on this matter.
We now move to this Hartz Victims post:
By: tigger4ever on December 17th, 2008
“It has been a month now since tigger has passed away, and I had no idea of how harmful the Hartz products are. If I would have known about all these sad stories, then I would have never given the treatment to him. He was 10, I gave him the Hartz flea and Tick treatment, and when I gave it to him, he started foming out of his mouth, I then washed it off of him with mild soap. The day after for about a week went downhill for tigger. He wouldnt eat, causing him to lose a few pounds. By the 3rd day after giving him the treatment, I took him to the vet. They gave him fluids, and meds. It didnt help, that night he could hardly walk, didnt touch his food, and it seemed like he was going blind. Then the next day tigger passed away….. After reading and researching about hartz I am so outraged, I went into a Kmart just the other day, where I had bought the treament from and there it sat on the counters. I read an article where the production was supposed to be stopped. I told the service counter about the products, so hopefully they will look into it further. I just wish I would have been more educated about hartz, I tried contacting them and they provide no email, just a number.”
The next day, tigger4ever added:
“We will always miss him. He was the best cat I have ever encountered, and Hartz took him away.”
Here’s what Dr. Mel had to say about all this:
In response to, “What You Can Do (Besides Lawsuit)Losing Tigger”
By: Dr. Melinda on December 19th, 2008
“Dear Tigger4ever,
I read your post and wanted to answer you personally. I am deeply sorry to hear about Tigger.
The Hartz UltraGuard flea & tick treatment product you refer to, sold at Kmart and many other retail outlets across the nation, contains an active ingredient which has been fully approved by the EPA and is actually classified in its lowest toxicity rating. It is one of the least toxic pet pesticide products available on the market today.
The Hartz Advanced Care flea & tick treatment in the news article you mentioned is referencing a prior product for cats, with a totally different active ingredient, which Hartz voluntarily removed from the market 4 years ago, and is no longer available.
I noted your frustration that Hartz had no email for you to contact, and wanted to let you know we are adding that service to our website soon. In the meantime, if you would give me your contact information, I’d like to reach out to you further regarding Tigger and answer any questions you may have.
Best,
Dr. Melinda”
Tigger4ever then provides an email address and there are no more comments on this post. Broken Hartz attempted to contact this individual, but the email address is no longer valid.
We find it interesting Dr. Melinda acts as if she knows what product was used even though Tigger4ever never mentions a specific product.
Also, in case you missed it, here is what really happened with Hartz’ “Voluntary Recall” in 2004.
Moving on, here’s the third post:
By: acoots0004 on December 28th, 2008
“Harts One Spot flea treatment killed my cat. It caused acute liver failure and it happend quickly. I had called the company and was told that it contained no pesticide, just give your cat a bath, I’m sorry she’s having a reaction. They took my personal information and told me that if I could get a refund if I sent the reciept and the leftover product. Why would I save a receipt, I didn’t know this was going to happen! The refund was the least of my worries. By the time I got her to the vet she was almost gone. I was told the best thing to do was end her suffering. A couple of days later the Harts Company called me back to see how my cat was doing. I told them she had to be put to sleep because of liver failure. The lady said that it had to have been going on for a long time. I told her she was healthy before using the product and hung up. I was furious!! I’ve warned all my friends & family. I wonder how many other beloved family pets have to die this way before something is done?”
Here comes Dr. Draper again:
In response to, “Poor Kitty”
By: Dr. Marta Draper on December 31st, 2008
“Dear acoots0004,
I am deeply sorry to hear about your cat, but want you to know that Hartz Ultra Guard One Spot does not contain anything that can cause liver failure or other internal damage.
The sole active ingredient in Hartz Ultra Guard One Spot is S-methoprene, an IGR (Insect Growth Regulator), which is effective in controlling young, pre-adult fleas only by impacting arthropod metamorphosis. This effect is unique to insects and other arthropod pests and has no impact on mammals. Additionally, the active ingredient is 100% non-systemic and does not pass into a mammal’s bloodstream.
The safety of S-methoprene has been well documented since 1975, when it was first registered; it is the same IGR that is used in the vet brand, Frontline. S-methoprene is even used by state and federal insect control programs to control mosquitoes in drinking water systems for humans. The use of IGR’s, such as S-methoprene, is actually recommended by both the ASPCA and Humane Society of America.
If you have any other further questions about how the product works, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly at Marta@hartz.com or our in-house vet, Dr. Melinda at DrMelinda@hartz.com.
Dr. Marta Draper, VP of R&D, Hartz”
The above response from Dr. Marta was made on the last day of 2008.
Here is the list of body systems affected by the Hartz Ultraguard One Spot product line (EPA Registration #2596-147) in 2008 according to this product’s individual report linked to the EPA Public Advisory published in March 2010:
The above list clearly provides evidence in direct opposition to Dr. Draper’s claims.
Not only were multiple internal systems damaged but, you’ll notice the liver was affected, albeit rarely. It’s important to remember, however, that many incidents do not get reported by consumers, the EPA does not include reports involving multiple animals and Hartz is strongly suspected of under-reporting incident occurrences. This means there are likely many more instances when this product has damaged an animal’s liver, as well as other internal systems.
Also, Dr. Marta Draper (like Dr. Melinda Fernyhough) tries to focus attention on (s)-Methoprene; although the EPA states, in multiple areas, its concern with Hartz Ultraguard products lies not with (s)-Methoprene, but with Hartz “inactive” ingredients.
Here is one example of the EPA’s opinion on this product:
(EPA Public Advisory published in March 2010, Page 16, Paragraph 2, Sentences 1-3)
“Incidents were reported for all products, including two products containing s-methoprene as the sole active ingredient. Companion animal safety studies were not required for these products because s-methoprene, which is an insect growth regulator, is of low toxicity to mammals. There are concerns for the potential toxicity of a formulant ingredient being responsible for toxicity of these products in cats.”
Lastly, you’ll notice this response form Dr. Marta comes three days after Trisha responded to Dr. Marta Draper on the post above, “What You Can Do (Besides Lawsuit)”. We feel this strongly suggests Dr. Draper did not miss Trisha’s reply to her comment: she simply couldn’t think of a response.
On to post four:
By: shanna on January 12th, 2009
“I used Hartz on my 9 year old cat Mikki and a few days later he was lethargic and made the most horrible meow I have ever heard. I immediatley took him to the vet. I was told that he was poisoned by the flea medicine and was as close to death as he could get and this was not the first case they had. It was at least the 10th case they have had in 3 months. We were lucky, others had died. We were able to bring him home a few days later. Unfortunately, he is now back at the vets again. This time with a complication due to the poisoning. He now has a liver problem and has been at the vets for over a week. They say he should make a full recovery. I feel blessed that I have such a great vet. Others have not been so lucky. It is horrible that these products are still on the market.
Your pets are an extension of your family. They provide unconditional love and friendship. I feel for every single person that has lost a member of their family due to these harmful products.”
Dr. Melinda attempts to field this one:
In response to “My Cat Mikki”
By: Dr. Melinda on January 16th, 2009
“Hi Shanna,
I am the Hartz in-house veterinarian – I’m so sorry to hear about Mikki’s experience and glad to hear he is feeling better now.
Can you recall the name of the Hartz product referenced in your post, because the reaction you describe is not typical for any of our flea and tick treatments for cats? Usually, if Mikki was to experience any reaction to a Hartz flea & tick product, it would manifest within the first 12 to 24 hours after treatment and not take a few days to show symptoms. This gives us an indication that Mikki’s health issue would not be related to whichever flea & tick product you used but more likely due to a pre-existing condition, and I recommend that your veterinarian conduct diagnostic testing on Mikki to gain further insight.
Also, I must clear up any misunderstanding about the toxicity of Hartz flea and tick products. Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect and misleading information about the toxicity of Hartz products on the internet and I understand that it is easy for consumers to be confused. You should know that Hartz UltraGuard flea and tick topical spot treatments for cats are non-systemic. In other words, the treatment does not penetrate the skin, NEVER enters the blood stream and, therefore, could not cause Mikki’s liver problems. Once applied to the skin between the shoulder blades, through the process of translocation, the active ingredient in the product is carried across the skin on the surface of the cat’s body by the natural oils associated with fur follicles. When applied according to labeled instructions, this treatment is entirely safe. The formula contains the active ingredient etofenprox, which has been rated by the EPA in the lowest toxicity category of any pet pesticide active ingredient on the market; with lower toxicity than either of the active ingredients in the two leading vet brands.
I’m very interested in your case and would appreciate the opportunity to speak with your vet and offer any assistance. I would also like to be available to you to offer you any help regarding Mikki and to answer any questions you may have about Hartz products. You can reach me at DrMelinda@hartz.com.
Dr. Melinda
The Hartz Mountain Corporation”
The next day, shanna responded:
In response to, “My Cat Mikki”
By: shanna on January 17th, 2009
“Dr. Melinda,
What we used on Mikki was Hartz UltraGuard One Spot Treatment for cats. You state that the treatment never penetrates and is carried across the skin. What happens if he licks himself or licks another cat that has the treatment on their skin? Does it not enter his body at that time?
Mikki has been a VERY healthy cat. When I took him to my vet I told him what I had done in the last week in regards to Mikki. My vet was the one that told me he had been poisoned by the flea treatment. The problem that he had with his liver was because he lost a lot of weight due to the trauma his body went through when he was poisoned.
I find it hard to beleive that so many people have had problems with Hartz products and it is all “misleading information”.
Shanna”
Firstly, in the response above, Dr. Melinda states:
“I’m so sorry to hear about Mikki’s experience and glad to hear he is feeling better now.”
Dr. Melinda, Broken Hartz would like to know how this part of the victim’s statement suggests the animal is doing better:
“We were able to bring him home a few days later. Unfortunately, he is now back at the vets again. This time with a complication due to the poisoning. He now has a liver problem and has been at the vets for over a week. They say he should make a full recovery.”
Dr. Melinda’s reflex action of lying, leads her to make this false statement in typical clumsy fashion:
“Can you recall the name of the Hartz product referenced in your post, because the reaction you describe is not typical for any of our flea and tick treatments for cats? [sic]”
Here are listings of all clinical signs reported for every Hartz product listed in the EPA Public Advisory published in March 2010:
This particular Hartz product is one of three products which are identical in terms of active ingredients, varying only in the contents of these products’ inert ingredients. This allows for compelling evidence to be derived in support of Hartz having an inert ingredient issue, which was discussed in Part Two of our Hartz Exposé, "Fun with Charts!"
The above lists from the EPA clearly show lethargy and vocalization to be among the most common reported clinical signs for all Hartz products named in the EPA Public Advisory published in March 2010. Not only that, this lie was totally unnecessary, seeing as how these signs are among the most-commonly reported for all products listed in the EPA’s Public Advisory published in March 2010. Dr. Melinda is just so predisposed to speak falsely, she can’t help herself.
Also, Dr. Melinda’s reply contains this little gem:
“Unfortunately, there is a lot of incorrect and misleading information about the toxicity of Hartz products on the internet and I understand that it is easy for consumers to be confused. You should know that Hartz UltraGuard flea and tick topical spot treatments for cats are non-systemic. In other words, the treatment does not penetrate the skin, NEVER enters the blood stream and, therefore, could not cause Mikki’s liver problems.”
Here are listings of all reported body systems affected by adverse reactions to the Hartz product listed in the EPA Public Advisory published in March 2010:
The medical defintion for the the term, "Hepatic" is: 1) Of, relating to, or resembling the liver. 2) Acting on or occurring in the liver.
This particular Hartz product is one of three products which are identical in terms of active ingredients, varying only in the contents of these products’ inert ingredients. While there were no reported events of the liver having been affected in the case of this product, clearly, other internal body systems were.
In response to Dr. Fernyhough’s statement:
“When applied according to labeled instructions, this treatment is entirely safe.”
Broken Hartz has already debunked this in a previous post:
(EPA’s DATA EVALUATION RECORD FOR ENHANCED SPOT-ON REPORTING CAT PRODUCT [2596-147], Page 4, the paragraph beneath Table 1)
“Of the 33 deaths reported following only dermal exposure, 16 animals were treated by a veterinarian. Eight of these animals were euthanized. Label directions were not followed for five of the 33 deaths.”
This means, 85.85% of all deaths associated with this product occurred when the product was used as directed and the route of exposure was limited to its intended method (dermally). Broken Hartz hardly considers that to be “entirely safe.”
Lastly, Dr. Melida states:
“The formula contains the active ingredient etofenprox…”
Not only hadn’t the victim named the offending product yet but, as already mentioned above, not all Hartz Ultraguard products for cats contain etofenprox; the exception being Ultraguard OneSpot, which turns out to be the actual Ultraguard product used by the customer. As mentioned above, Ultraguard OneSpot has always been formulated with (s)-Methoprene and an unknown list of other ingredients. This can be confirmed by visiting this portion of the EPA’s website and viewing the label amendment documents, linked at the bottom of the page.
To date, Hartz Mountain Corporation has not followed up on this matter.
We now move on to the fifth and final Hartz Victims post we will be discussing today:
By: LytleDogs on April 22nd, 2009
“On April 18, 2009 we applied Sergeant’s Silver Flea & Tick Squeeze-On for Dogs on our 2 puggles (Daisy Mae & Jack) & our Lab Mix (Cody). All just have turned a year old in February and April.
HOW CAN THEY CONTINUE TO PUT A PRODUCT LIKE THAT ON THE SHELVES FOR CONSUMERS? I SURE WISH I WOULD HAVE INVESTIGATED THE PRODUCT ON THE INTERNET BEFORE APPLYING IT!!!
Shortly after we applied the product to Jack he started running around scratching & itching. He was whining and just could not sit still. Not knowing that it was a reaction to this product we waited thinking that it was something else making him “go crazy”. When he started foaming at the mouth we decided we better get him to the nearest vet. hospital. Before we could secure our other 2 dogs… Daisy started foaming at the mouth as well. We contacted the vet. hospital and talked to the emergency vet and she told us to bathe them with dishwashing liquid and then get them to the hospital. So after bathing all 3 dogs, loading them in the car and RACING to the hospital with 3 foaming, salvating, whining dogs and 2 distraught owners we find out that it’s the application for fleas & ticks causing this scare of a lifetime.
After a $261.80 hospital charge and several injections to each dog, a sleepless night and now today (the next day) I’m on the Internet searching this product and find all these people that have either lost or severely ill pets.
I AM OUTRAGED! Is our dogs in for more permanent health problems due to this product?
Other symptoms we have noticed SO FAR:
in the emergency room both puggles were shaking, twitching ears, twitching muscles
We had to contact the vet. hospital again this evening for more meds.
This product is causing pyrethrin poisoning on pets and the public should be told before more pet’s lives are lost!”
Dr. Draper and Dr. Melinda had given responding to Hartz’ victims a good try, but failed.
It was time to send in the fairy:
In response to, “NO MORE HARTZ…for the LYTLE’S”
By: Truthfairy on May 12th, 2009
“Hartz does not make Sergeants products. Sergeants makes Sergeants products. So the title of this posting….”No more Hartz for the Lytle’s” is very misleading. Lytledogs issue is with Sergeants, not with Hartz.”
While Truthfairy has made a technically correct statement here, there is a big problem with her comment (which we’ll address momentarily), but here is what was said on the comment feed in reply to her statement. You’ll notice this response was made on the same day as Truthfairy’s comment, so we are pretty confident she saw it:
In response to, “NO MORE HARTZ…for the LYTLE’S”
By: Matt on May 12th, 2009
“Dr. Melinda, you’re right…this posting is mistitled and that is not fair to Hartz. Fair is fair…and this title isn’t.
Could you bring us up to date, however, on the 956 adverse incidents the EPA says Hartz’s cat products were responsible for in 2008? And what about your dog flea and tick products–how many injuries and deaths in 2008? How many in 2007? How many so far this year?
And just how many cat and dog injuries and deaths do you people at Hartz believe is an acceptable number? Your spokesperson, John Mullane, told the USA Today in 2005 that 7,000 cat injuries and deaths were a small number compared to the number of applications…that was just prior to the EPA issuing a Cancellation Order on your products. Is that an acceptable number of cat or dog injuries and deaths–7,000?
Oh, one final question–what kind of flea and tick products do you use on your own pets?”
While Hartz does not make Sergeant’s Silver Flea & Tick Squeeze-On for Dogs (EPA Registration #2517-85), their parent company at the time, Sumitomo Corporation, holds the patent to Cyphenothrin (AKA GOKILAHT) and sells this negligent, out-classed chemical to Sergeant’s; therefore making them the responsible party, when all is said and done.
Sumitomo has inked a deal with Unicharm, a leader in the asian pet-care market, to hand over primary shares of Hartz Mountain Corporation to them. To the best of our knowledge, this deal gets finalized in May 2012, but Sumitomo will continue to hold a large amount of stock in Hartz and, of course, will continue to provide its reckless chemical offerings to them.
A listing of all Sumitomo’s dangerous Environmental Health Division Products can be found here.
To date, neither Hartz Mountain Corporation nor Truthfairy have followed up on this matter.
We hope you not only enjoyed Truth Week, but you found it to be informative as well.
As mentioned in “Truthfairy in the Amazon”, it’s quite possible Truthfairy is not Dr. Melinda, but the odds of Truthfairy being anything other than a Hartz troll is highly improbable.
Plus, Broken Hartz is not done investigating Truthfairy and will update our Readers if/when the time comes.
=^..^=
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The lab tech even said ‘we see this all the time’” – Hartz Victim
