More Greenie Info

[KimMee's Mom]

I was sent this article today by my pet trainer, she didn't say where it came from-- Merry Christmas everyone, be safe



December 19, 2005

It is the nation's top-selling dog treat, with $315 million in domestic retail sales last year.
It is so beloved by dogs that amused owners have a nickname for it - doggie crack.
And it is the reason, contend Michael Eastwood and Jennifer Reiff of Manhattan, that their miniature dachshund, Burt, is no longer alive.
On July 22, as she'd done regularly for the past year and a half, Reiff gave the 4-year-old rescue dog his Greenies treat. The next day, Burt was on an
operating table, where vets removed three feet of necrotic intestine and what looked like a soft foamy green mass.

Two days later, Burt was dead.

The couple says S&M NuTec of North Kansas City, Mo., the manufacturer of Greenies, sent an e-mail expressing sadness for their loss, and offered to pay the
almost $6,600 in medical bills as well as $2,000, the estimated purchase price for a mini-dachsie like Burt. In return, Eastwood and Reiff would have to
sign a confidentiality agreement and agree not to pursue legal action.

"That incensed us even more," says Eastwood, who along with Reiff has filed a $5 million lawsuit, charging that Greenies are "unsafe, inadequately labeled"
and ultimately caused Burt's death.

Invented by a couple plagued by their dog's chronic bad breath, toothbrush-shaped Greenies are marketed as "multifunctional dental treats" that, when used
daily, reduce tartar by 62 percent and gingivitis by 33 percent. The company stresses that owners feed the correct size Greenies for their dog's weight and
follow the feeding guidelines, which say the treats should not be fed to dogs who "gulp."

(For toy breeds, young puppies and the chew-averse, the company developed Greenies Lil' Bits. It also recently unveiled Feline Greenies for cats.)

Eastwood counters that Burt did not choke on his Greenie and was always supervised when consuming the treat. "The Greenie was a foreign object in his
intestines."

S&M NuTec declined to comment on the litigation but disputes there is any problem with the treat's digestibility.

"The digestibility testing that we have with Greenies shows them to be more digestible than the average dry dog food when adequately chewed ... " reads the
company's e-mailed statement. "If a dog swallows a large piece of Greenies, or a whole treat, the digestion process will be extended because of the
decrease of treat surface area to digestive liquids and stomach action."

Veterinarian Brendan McKiernan of Wheat Ridge, Colo., a board-certified internist, disagrees. "They don't dissolve in the stomach," he says. "When we take
them out, they're not digested. And they are causing both esophageal and intestinal problems in dogs to an extent that is concerning."

S&M NuTec says Greenies obstructions are "rare," with most caused by improperly following feeding instructions.

But McKiernan believes incidents are underreported. Earlier this year, at a meeting of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, a group of
gastroenterologists discussed obstructions caused by "compressed vegetable chew treats" such as Greenies. By an informal show of hands, he says, "a significant
number said, 'Hey, we have problems.'"

Concerned about such cases in his own practice, McKiernan set out to study reports of obstructions from 1999 to 2004 in the Veterinary Medical Database,
which records cases from two dozen vet schools.

The results, outlined in a multi-authored article soon to be submitted to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, found that, after
bones and fish hooks, compressed vegetable chew treats were the third-most-common culprit in obstructions.

McKiernan notes that the cases mostly involved small dogs.

But big dogs have their issues with compressed vegetable chew treats, too.
Elaine Gewirtz of Westlake Village, Calif., says she fed Greenies to her Dalmatians and "never had problems" - until Jimmy went to live with her daughter and
started getting more than his usual ration.

The 5-year-old Dal had three bouts of unexplained vomiting. As Gerwirtz walked him outside the vet's office that last time, "he vomited, and there was all
this green stuff.

"I really think it's hit or miss," Gerwirtz says, noting that voracious chewers like Jimmy may be prone to problems. Still, she no longer gives her dogs
Greenies.

It's a decision that Eastwood wishes he had been given the opportunity to make.

"We always felt if this product had fair warning and fair labeling," he concludes, "we would never have put our dog in harm's way."

[orinskye]

yeah......... i stopped giveing toby greenies ... he choked on a little peice and i decided he is better off ahving nothing (except cherios) he now has one of those indestructable nylabones that he LOVES (he throws it at my fiance as well.....lol...... )

[Jaspermom]

My vet sells Greenies in his OFFICE!! Don't get me wrong, I love my vet, I just think the people who market these disgusting things do a great job marketing them to vets as a dental device. They have cute little displays and probably all kinds of research proving the chews help remove tarter, etc.

I just copied your post and put this at the top:
*************************************
Dr. Bowen,

The more I read about Greenies, the more unhappy I get about the fact that you sell them in your office. I hope you read this and think about perhaps getting rid of this dangerous chew toy.

I also hope I have not offended you. I would just hate for you to have to operate on a dog whose owner had gotten a greenie from your office.
*************************************

I sure hope he reads it with an open mind. I would feel soooo good about walking in there and seeing all the Greenies GONE!!! And if it works, I own you a BIG thank you!!

[Carinhosamulher]

From the moment Greenies came out I was always suspicious of them. I have never bought them for my Cinamin and I will never buy them for Matthias. They are too new a product without enough research on the effects... and they just look nasty.

[Carinhosamulher]

Yes, my vet sells them in his office too. I'll make sure to print his article out for him as well. Is there a direct link to a newsource for this article? that helps with the credibility. Our Petsmart also sells the Greenies.

[chachi]

I dont give my dogs greenies because they dont chew them so I dont have to worry about them. I just got them a nylabone that tastes like baby back ribs though.

[Carinhosamulher]

Personally I buy the pre-sterilized bones from Petsmart. They come stuffed with different flavor fillings. When the filling is licked out, I grind/mash up cooked vegies and stuff the bones, freeze them, then give them to Cinamin for treats. I bought a smaller one for Matthias. The nice thing about these are they can't be chewed like rawhide and pieces be undigested. They cost about $6 and last for 6 months! They could last forever, but after 6 months at the longest, I throw them away and buy fresh ones.

[chachi]

Originally Posted by Carinhosamulher

Personally I buy the pre-sterilized bones from Petsmart. They come stuffed with different flavor fillings. When the filling is licked out, I grind/mash up cooked vegies and stuff the bones, freeze them, then give them to Cinamin for treats. I bought a smaller one for Matthias. The nice thing about these are they can't be chewed like rawhide and pieces be undigested. They cost about $6 and last for 6 months! They could last forever, but after 6 months at the longest, I throw them away and buy fresh ones.

We just bought some of these for our dogs too and they loved them.

[tigerfan]

After reading all the reports on YT and the news, I have stopped giving Tiger Greenies. It's just too big of a risk to take!