Sorry this is in bad format. My mom forwarded it to me, and it really scared me. Please be careful with this stuff. I have used it on my Yorkies in the past...
Subject: IMPORTANT Toxic flea/tick treatments
Pass this on. Sad, but true...........
> Sorry for the lengthy story...but it is important to pass on to anyone
> who has a dog or cat. This is absolutely a true story. It is my very
> own, sad, story.
>
> As most of you know, Paul and I have always had dogs as part of our
> family. Two years ago, a good friend gave us two beautiful
> pomeranian/chihuahua mix puppies to care for and love. But something
> went terribly wrong this week. We lost our beautiful, playful, loving,
> 4.45 lb, Jaz. She died so unexpectedly, and so tragically. We are
> really struggling with this more than any other animal we have ever
> lost.. We are still in shock! HOW did she die? Well, this is what you
> have to pass on to everyone you know who has a dog, particularly if it
> is under 25 lbs.
>
> Since Jaz was 1 yr old I started giving her K9 Advantix, from mid
> spring
> to early fall, to protect her from fleas, mosquitos and ticks. I was
> sure to watch the label to give her the appropriate dosage, and apply
> it
> in the manner suggested. The package I bought was for, and I quote,
> "puppies over 7 weeks old and older dogs under 10 lbs." Little did I
> know I wasn't protecting her, but slowly killing her. (Revolution does
> have doses for dogs under 5 lbs...but it had never been prescribed for
> Jaz.) In fact, I was so sure of this product, I was trying to coerce my
> sister into using a similar product on her cats.
>
> Products that we are all familiar with, such as the one I used, and
> including Advantage, Frontline, Capstar and Revolucion are all
> pesticides.. Do you know what Permithrin or Selamectin is used for?
> Killing ants and other insects. It is very toxic. The vet said, it
> would
> be the same as giving your dog a teaspoon of Raid every day.
> (Revolution
> seems to have a lower percentage of active ingredients...so it might be
> safer to use...or just might take longer before signs are recognized).
> K9 Advantix has TWO toxic active ingredients!
>
> If you were to call the manufacturers of these products they will tell
> you it does not enter the blood stream. And, if the dog/cat show signs
> of stress, just simply give them a bath to wash it away. Revolutions
> label states it enters the blood stream and cannot be washed away. All
> will insist their product does no harm to your pet. However, the Vet
> says something quite different. Jaz was taken care of by two Vets over
> the past three days. Each from a different facility and not related to
> each other. Each told me the same thing!
>
> Here is what happens: Once the poison is given to your dog via a liquid
> applied to the skin. It enters their system...and never fully leaves
> it.
> Some of the toxins remain. The following month you give another dose
> and
> more toxins remain in the body...until finally the toxicity is so great
> it begins to break down the organs, gets into the blood stream, and
> then
> all havoc breaks loose. The Vets said, because Jaz was so small, after
> the first six doses, I probably would never have had to give her
> anymore
> for the next THREE YEARS. That's how long it could have stayed active
> in her body. Larger dogs & cats tolerate it better, but in time, the
> same thing happens. By the time a larger dog starts having problems,
> their owners and vets think it is a sign of aging...and rarely ever
> look
> into toxic poisoning. They said they are seeing more and more evidence
> of this happening to our pets. Advantage and Advantix have only been
> out
> since aprx. 2002. Over the past two years we are hearing more about the
> actual affects of these products.
>
> There are symptoms to watch for. The unfortunate thing is, you don't
> recognize the symptoms, until too late. Why is this? Because one
> doesn't
> usually acquaint the symptoms with a product you have been giving your
> pet for some time. Early symptoms could simply be, skin rashes, and a
> little more shedding than usual. In larger dogs, they might become more
> aggressive. By the way, there are no signs to watch for on the
> label...only instructions for humans if they touch or swallow this
> poison. (Revolution dose have a few warnings) Jaz had a small skin
> problem on her lower back. I was told it was just a normal dog thing
> and
> to change shampoo, and given an ointment. Well it turns out, it was a
> "burn" from the toxins.
>
> Later symptoms are, seizures, (most people think seizures are due to
> breed and aging dogs, brain malfunctions, etc.). Throwing up two to
> three times a day (many will think it do to food or something they ate
> outside). Increased urinating and a need for a lot of water. Listless.
> Runny eyes. Eventually bleeding.
>
> The only sympton Jaz had that we could have caught was the small skin
> rash or "burn." Notice how things quickly progressed. After giving her
> the last dose, a week ago Monday, within two days she seemed to become
> listless. Then she perked up again, like her old self, so we thought
> she was over whatever ailed her...a 48 hour flu. Then we noticed on
> Friday, she was always going to the bathroom. She chose not to sleep in
> her bed with her sister, and using her stuffed bunny as a pillow, but
> she wanted to be away from everyone, choosing to sleep on a cold floor
> on the side of the sofa, where she could not be seen. For three days,
> we
> filled her water dish every couple of hours, and within minutes she was
> eliminating it. However, she was eating well. But, by Sunday, she could
> barely walk, now preferring to lay on the cool tile floor but near her
> water dish. When we returned home from church, we noticed her
> shivering.
> So I sat with her, covered in a blanket. On Sunday she also stopped
> eating. No Vet or animal hospital was open. Even the animal emergency
> center had closed for some reason. We had to wait until Monday to get
> her to a vet. First thing Monday I took her to the vet, who immediately
> recommended hospitalization. He said it was either kidney failure or
> diabetes. At the hospital they gave her xrays and blood tests, took
> stool samples, urinalysis. They ruled out everything. All her vital
> organs seemed OK. She had slight fever so they put her on an antibiotic
> drip. As the hours went by, nothing worked. Then she had a seizure. As
> more time went by they realized it was Toxic poisoning. The doctors
> drilled me on things she ate. Things and plants to look for in our
> yard.
> Then they asked what type of flea control I was using. That did it.
> However, because these reactions are just now making themselves known,
> most vets do not know what antidote to give. They put her on various
> drips of stronger antibiotics and other things to try to flush the
> poison out, but nothing worked. That began their mad search to find out
> more. One vet had three people on-line to find out as much as they
> could. I pulled out my lap-top and tried to help. At 2Am we were still
> trying to find a way to help her. Another tried to get info from the
> Bayer Co. who manufactures K9 Ad. They were more concerned about a law
> suit, insisting their product couldn't be at fault. Two vets kept
> making
> calls to Poison Control Center...but no one would return calls. We knew
> she wasn't going to survive, but thought we would give docs until 10AM
> the next morning. If nothing changed, we would approve of putting her
> down. However, I was called into the hospital at 7Am, she had three
> seizures that night, after I left at 2:30AM. When she saw me, her eyes
> seem to say I'm glad your here to be with me. Doctor said she was not
> in
> pain, just in panic from being in a strange place with strange people.
> We decided not to "put her to sleep" unless she started having
> problems.
> She went into a peaceful sleep and died two hours later. Then, we got
> the call from the Poison Control Center. They didn't know what to give
> a
> dog.
>
> The information we found on-line is incredible. There are thousands of
> blogs all over the country. People begging other people to stop using
> these products on their dogs. (To be fair, there are as many that say
> how great the products are...most are on websites that sell the
> products). What happened to Jaz, has and will continue to happen to
> other dogs until word gets out, or the manufacturers change the
> product,
> does better labeling, responds to emergencies, and prepares antidotes
> for those who are suffering from this poison. Vets must learn more.
> Jaz body was donated to a Veternarian research team. Perhaps her small
> body will aid in finding a way to help other small pets survive this
> poison.
>
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