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October 2003
Thanks for your website. I've only had time to read your 2002 consumer alert. I'd like to read all the links as well. I found your site tonight after doing a search for "spot on tick cancer". We had our 11yr old lab mix put down 2 weeks ago. The vet could not positively identify her illness. He was able to rule out arthritis. We couldn't afford to run more tests. She had been going down hill for awhile with what appeared to be arthritis. This summer she no longer put weight on her right front leg and went down hill even faster. Sores developed on her leg from her dragging it. The only time she would get up to walk was to go to the bathroom. She appeared to be in a lot of pain. The vet assumed from the x-rays he took that it was cancer but there was no real conclusive evidence. We know she had nerve damage evidenced by the inability to use that leg. I would massage our dog hoping to comfort her. A couple of times I noticed that she had a strong knee-jerk reaction when going over her shoulders. The thought occurred to me then "just where the bio-spot goes on". I have this gut feeling that our dog's pain and suffering was probably caused by the pesticides we placed on her to keep the ticks off. It's been going through my head every day since we put her down. Tonight I decided to do some internet research and came up with results way too fast. I hope your site is read by many. And I hope some answers can be found.
Debbie 10/2/03
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My dog, a 2 year old female black lab mix, has now had two seizures -- both of them within days of applying either Advantage (first time) or Advantix (second time). Advantix has the same ingredient as BioSpot. My vet told me that epilepsy is not uncommon in labs, but it seems to be to be way too much of a coincidence -- especially based on all of these other letters! I am going to take her off it to err on the side of caution. I've been told by several reputable dog owners that brewer's yeast given orally every morning keeps the fleas away totally. I will try this in the spring. My condolences to all those who have lost pets -- I know how horrified and helpless I felt during the seizures, and cannot imagine losing my baby.
Suzanne 10/3/03
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Hi, this is the second time I've been to your consumer alert website. I wanted to add the sad story of our beautiful Great-Dane/Mastiff mix, named Tasha--who was an absolute love and our second child. We were having a flea problem at the end of the summer which is pretty common that time of year. My husband went and bought some bio-spot at the local pet-store and rubbed it at the base of Tasha's neck, like you're supposed to. A little while later I noticed she wasn't eating and just laying down shivering--this was unusual even being an older dog--she always had a hearty appetite and was still pretty active. Later that night she seemed to progressively get worse and seemed to have a fever--she was burning up, still wouldn't eat or drink, and didn't even want to get up to go outside. I decided to get on the computer and go research this 'bio-death' and came up with this site. I started reading all the stories and was horrified that this stuff is even on the shelves. I immediately ran over to Tasha and furiously started scrubbing the back of her neck and back with soap and water, trying to get this crap off her--of course it was too late--it was already in her system and had attacked her nervous system (and God knows what other internal damage). A few days later she seemed to very slowly recuperate, but we still noticed the damaging effects-- she was awfully weak and not herself. This progressed over the last few months to a point where the poor dog could barely eat--I had to hand-feed her scrambled eggs and deli-ends, as she couldn't chew her dog food or bones--and was giving her shots of water with a syringe because she wouldn't drink and was getting dehydrated. She lost massive amounts of weight--we could count every rib, and she was having problems using her hind legs. This past week she lost the complete use of her legs and just laid there looking very pathetic. She was in a lot of pain, and all we could do was give her children's advil and comfort her often. We came to the heartbreaking decision that she had to be put down--last Saturday we had our beautiful baby euphemized--words cannot describe our loss and sorrow. I hope some other pet owner reads this and it saves them from the pain we and others have gone through. This' bio-death' and similar products should be TOTALLY BANNED by the U.S. government--and promptly removed from all store shelves!!!!
Lee Ann 10/14/03
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My 8 month old Jack Russell, Panda, has always been a very hyper, healthy dog. She nearly bounces off the furniture! Last week I gave her a flea bath with Seargant's Flea Shampoo and put a Seargant's Flea Collar on her. Now for the past 3 days she has had the shakes, some vomiting and is extremely weak. All she does is curl up and sleep. She has not eaten and she is very depressed. I took her to the vet today and was told that she had pesticide poisoning from the Seargant's products. The vet seemed very angry and stated that these products should not be sold. I took her home, bathed her with a shampoo from the vet and have been giving her water (as much as she will tolerate) and keeping her warm and comfortable (as much as possible). The vet told me that she may have neurological damage! I cant believe this! Something has to be done about this! Now, I see that a minor episode of the shakes that she had a couple of weeks ago also corresponded to a bath with the Seargant's flea shampoo. Not only has Seargant's cost me a $100.00 in vet bills (the vet wanted to do more but I could barely afford the hundred) but possibly my beloved dog's health and maybe even life.
Sandra 10/14/03
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I used Bio Spot Flea Control for cats on two of my three cats. I had bought it for the dogs and cats and was very careful NOT to use the dog Bio Spot on the cats because of all the warnings. My cats do not groom my dogs and do not even "socialize" with them so there couldn't have been any exposure from the dogs to the cats. About 7 hours or less after I applied the repellant one of my cats that was treated, her name WAS Whispers, started having severe tremors and a very severe seizure. I quickly gave her a bath and rushed her to the emergency veterinary service. By the time I reached their office, Whispers had a second severe seizure. I called the emergency service before I left the house and they told me to call the animal poison control that had a 900 phone number and get a case number. The emergency service called poison control with the case number which gave them the antidote and with that they took her in and immediately started treatment. Since she was going to be there for awhile, they told me to go home and come back by 8AM before they close for the day. If she wasn't any better by then, Whispers would have to be taken straight to my regular vet's office. When I arrived home I noticed the second cat that had been treated was having tremors. I quickly gave him a bath and rushed him to the ER. The third cat had never been treated and was fine. I picked up both Whispers and Echo at 8 AM and rushed them straight to my vet's office. The ER had faxed them the information and they were ready and waiting to continue the treatments. By 5 PM, Echo was ready to come home. He is younger then Whispers and I guess could deal with the problem better. By 5:30, Whispers was on a respirator. By 6 PM she had died. I felt horrible. I felt like I had killed my cat.
I called Foster & Smith and talked to one of the veterinary's they have on staff. She was very compassionate and understanding and told me to forward all the information I had from the ER and from my vet's clinic along with all costs. She forwarded it to Farnam Companies. They had the audacity to infer that I gave my cats the Bio Spot that was meant for dogs. I have known the words "cat, dog, only" since I was in the first and second grade. I know the difference. I was very careful not to give Whispers and Echo the stuff meant for my dogs. They are telling me that this is the first they have heard of any problems. WRONG, from reading this site, it is not the first time to happen. Farnam is refusing to reimburse me the $770 I had to spend AND STILL LOST MY CAT.
Thank you for the chance to find out this information and I guess to vent my frustration.
Judith 10/14/03
This was an email I had sent to PetsMart regarding Bio Spot and their response is below it:
Customer's comments:
I have tried numerous of times to contact the home office and I get no return call. I want to inform you that the product Bio Spot almost killed my cat. If I wouldn't have notice as early as I did she would be. There is a web site filled with complaints about this product (http://www.elversonpuzzle.com/biospotletters.html) there is over 35 pages worth. There have been 12 related cases at my vet's office alone this year. That doesn't include the rest the town. I spent a great deal of money saving my cat and I am contacting my lawyer about this situation. Your company has been notified as well as the manufacturer. This product is killing animals EVERY year and they don't deserve it. You are suppose to be a company saving lives but yet you are helping kill them by keeping this product on your shelf. I have contacted many of the people who have experienced the same as I if not worse and we all plan to do this together if nothing is done.
Jeff 10/14/03
PETSMART RESPONSE
Dear Customer,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at PETsMART. At PETsMART we take the health and safety of pets very seriously. We work closely with our suppliers to make sure every product we offer is safe. The Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) regulates all flea and tick prevention products. The EPA does test the products for safety on a quarterly basis.
Like all products, the directions for use must be followed closely to ensure the safety of flea and tick products. It is extremely important that the correct product and type is used for your pet. It is also imperative to read all the instructions and use only as directed and contact a veterinarian with any questions.
In addition, like many other medications, supplements or pet foods, they too can cause an allergic reaction. We strongly recommend that our customers, who want to use these products read the labels carefully and research what is best for your pet. We encourage our customers who have questions to call the manufacturer as well as consult with their veterinarian.
Thank you for your time and concern.
Regards,
PETsMART Customer Service
It's true that many adverse reactions to flea control products are the result of a failure to follow the instructions and caution statements on the label (which are often in fine print). These statements often contradict the statements from companies that sell it (i.e. "Safe - for your pet, family, and the environment! As veterinarians, we recommend only products that are safe."). Animals can develop allergies to pesticides (and the other ingredients which are not required to be disclosed on the packaging), but only AFTER being exposed to them. However, many adverse reactions occur even when the instructions are followed, and are caused by the inherent toxicity of the pesticides. It's important to remember that these products are designed to kill organisms.
The companies that manufacture and sell these products often blame the victim by asserting that adverse reactions are caused either by the failure of the consumer to follow directions or a chemical allergy (meaning that the genetic individuality of the animal, and not the product, is the cause of the adverse reaction).
James TerBush
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I wish I researched this product before using it. I used Bio Spot on my chocolate lab "Cisco" and my (outdoor) cat "Enkydo" about a week ago. This was the second time I used the product. Cisco seemed fine but the cat freaked out a little. I only used about 2 drops of Bio Spot (*for cats*) on the cat and he jumped off the counter. He shook himself off like water had been spilled on him and wanted to go outside. I didn't think much about it and let him out. He'd been gone for a few days which isn't that uncommon for him. Today I got a call from a neighbor who found Enky DEAD behind his garden and had the county animal control take Enky away. As soon as I heard it happened in a backyard and not on a road I immediately became suspicious of the Bio Spot. Your site has convinced me that I poisoned my little Enkydo. Thank you for posting this information and let's hope more and more people find it before it's too late.
Sam 10/22/2003
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I had also used Biospot on my 3 cats - 2 adults and 1 kitten (8 months old). This was the first time I had used this product and had just about everyone tell me how good the product worked. I had applied it to all 3 of my cats around 11:00pm then went to bed. Around 2:30am I was awaken to my kitten howling and hissing. So when I went in to see what was wrong she was on the floor thrashing around and I had thought she had swallowed something and it had gotten stuck in her airway. I just held her and loved on her then she started having seizures. So I had called a vet and he told me to rush her in. Before I was getting ready to leave my other 2 cats started the same thing. I was NEVER so scared in all my life. Needless to say after I got my cats to the vet an hour after we left my kitten had died and the other 2 wasnt looking very well. My other 2 cats did make a recovery after 3 days in a coma. My cats are home now but still "twitch" every once in a while. I am so upset and hurt that I lost one of my cats and a product like this one can be on the market. I know it wont do any good to contact the company and get them to be responsible for their product but I do believe that it should be taken off the market. I am happy my cats are alive but dont know if it will affect their system forever. I am also glad to hear your dog made it through his terrible ordeal.
Mary 10/24/03
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DISCLAIMER: Below are messages that I have received from others whose dogs and cats experienced adverse reactions after using flea control products. I have no way of knowing if the information in these messages is factual, or if the products they used were the actual cause of the adverse reactions.
