Pesticides & Preventatives: Poisoning Pets?

For years, environmentalists have been blowing the warning whistle about the slow poisoning of humans and animals from pesticides, insecticides and other toxic chemicals. Many of these chemicals are proven to increase your dog's odds of getting cancer, and now experts estimate that 46% of dogs and 39% of cats dying of disease are dying of cancer. It's unlikely this is a coincidence.

Veterinary waiting rooms continue to be filled with accidentally poisoned pets. Too many of these pets don't survive. A University of Pennsylvania vet school study showed topical insecticides (aka preventatives) "significantly increased" bladder cancer risk, especially in overweight dogs. Other studies have shown cancer risks from herbicides. Some products meant for pets can even increase the chance you and your children will become ill.

Snail, ant and rodent baits may also prove deadly, sometimes killing quickly, sometimes silently and slowly. Don't think it can't happen to your pet. In the "poison free" yard of my favorite pet safety advocate (me!), both of my dogs were exposed to rat poison. I immediately induced vomiting as advised by ASPCA's Poison Control Center, then rushed them to an emergency vet. They took weeks of Vitamin K -- the prescribed antidote. Now,11 months later,my dog Jiggy (who suffers from life long liver disease) still shows worsed liver function. And my vet bills top $3000 with no end in sight.

Even when we don't realize it, pesticides, insecticides, herbicides and other poisons assault our dogs' bodies in countless ways:

* We purposefully apply insecticides to kill fleas and ticks. Although none of us would rub poison between our children's shoulder blades, or bathe them in poisons, when it comes to pets, we trustingly accept the "wisdom" of advertisers and sellers of flea-and-tick products. Check out your Flea and Tick products for safety at Green Paws.org. And don't forget to check the products your groomer or kennel owner uses. Even if a product is labeled "natural" or touted as "safe," it may still be harmful to your pet's long-term health. In 2008, ASPCA toxicologists reported more than 31,000 calls related to insecticides, often because of misuse of flea and tick products.

* We administer insecticides orally to kill heartworms, even when sustained cool temps make contracting heartworms all but impossible (according to the University of Pennsylvania and other experts). Yet, advertisers warn us we must buy these products year round.

* Pets unknowingly auto-apply pesticides, herbicides, and other toxins during walks with you. Even if your own yard is free of toxic chemicals, be aware that romps across golf courses, common areas and dog parks, with their unknown pesticide and herbicide treatment schedules, can prove deadly. Whatever gets on your pet's feet is licked into their bodies, assaulting livers and increasing carcinogenic loads.

* Pets eat hidden pesticides in their food, especially cheap corn-laden grocery store kibble. Corn deemed unfit for human consumption -- sometimes because of excessive pesticide contamination -- too often ends up in pet food.

* Pets get into rodent, ant and snail poison even when you are careful. Some of these products (like rat poison) cause death by internal bleeding and you may not recognize symptoms until it's too late. Just a tiny amount of some products (like snail bait) can kill. My dogs' poisoning came in an usual way: from rat bait locked inside a safe-looking bait box. A raccoon trying to get at the bait banged the box on stones in my yard . My dogs found the scattered bait.

* Pets (and hunting birds, coyotes, etc.) eat poisoned animals (rats, groundhogs, etc.) and are poisoned themselves. This happens more than you might suspect.

So how do you keep your pet safe from poison? First, check all your home and garden products for child safety. If they're not safe for kids, they're not safe for dogs and cats, either. If you're supposed to wash your hands after using a product, consider not using it.

Second, don't use products containing multiple pesticides. That is, don't treat for ticks or heartworm when your dog just has fleas. And don't treat year round when it isn't necessary. Better yet, treat with non-toxic products and natural methods.

Third, determine the chemical application schedules of your favorite park and stay clear when treatments are fresh. Fourth, wash (or at least wipe) your pet's feet after walking on suspect areas. Clean paws, too, after walks on grimy streets and salted roads. If you wouldn't lick a surface, don't let your animal lick surface chemicals off his paws. Washing up takes just a moment and can save tears, wasted days and thousands of dollars at the vet's office.

If your pet has been exposed to any poison, immediately contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Poison Control Center's 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435. Find additional information on my website's Links page.