Category: Grrr

Nearly 1,700 Pets Have Reportedly Died After Wearing Seresto Flea and Tick Collars

Since they were first introduced in 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has received more than 75,000 complaints about popular Seresto-brand flea and tick collars. According to those complaints, 1,698 cats and dogs may have died after wearing the collars. At least 1,000 humans became ill after handling the collars.

These scary statistics are from a report by the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, an independent, nonprofit newsroom. The report was co-published yesterday in USA TODAY.

The information is based on thousands of federal documents from the EPA, which is responsible for regulating these and other products that contain pesticides. Despite the disturbing number of pets reportedly killed or sickened, the EPA has never issued a warning about Seresto flea collars.

“The EPA appears to be turning a blind eye to this problem, and after seven years of an increasing number of incidents, they are telling the public that they are continuing to monitor the situation,” Karen McCormack, a retired EPA employee, says in the report. “But I think this is a significant problem that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later.”

McCormack said these collars have the most reported incidents of any pesticide pet product she’s ever seen.  Yet the company that makes them, Elanco Animal Health, insists their flea and tick collars are safe.

“There is no established link between death and exposure to the active ingredients contained in Seresto,” an Elanco spokesperson wrote in a statement to the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting. “We take the safety of our products very seriously, and thoroughly investigate potential concerns related to their use.”

Seresto flea collars are top sellers on Amazon, but the online retailer has not removed them even though many reviewers have complained that their pets developed everything from skin rashes to neurological issues after wearing them.

Two Toxic Pesticides in Seresto Collars

Seresto flea and tick collars are intended to be worn by pets for eight months. They contain these two pesticides:

  • Imidcloprid, an insecticide that’s often used on crops — and is connected to the massive killings of bees and butterflies. Because of this, it’s banned for outdoor use in the European Union but is still allowed in flea collars.
  • Flumethrin, a pesticide that’s used only in Seresto flea collars, according to the report.

Bayer, the company that created the Seresto collars and has since been bought by Elanco, stated in a 2012 study that the combination of imidacloprid and flumethrin may have a “synergistic effect.” This means it makes them much more toxic for fleas and ticks—and perhaps for dogs and cats as well.

“You don’t even see these kinds of numbers with many agricultural chemicals,” Nathan Donley, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity, says in the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting report. “For whatever reason, this combination is just really nasty.” He said the nearly 1,700 pet deaths are likely “just the tip of the iceberg.”

Safe Alternatives to Flea Collars

Instead of putting a pesticide-filled collar around your dog’s neck, there are safer ways to help get rid of fleas without harming your pet in the process.

If you don’t want to use any chemicals, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a nonprofit environmental group, recommends doing the following:

  • Bathe your pet regularly, since soap and water will kill adult fleas. Just be aware that flea and tick shampoos often contain many of the same chemicals as topical treatments.
  • Use a fine-tooth flea comb to brush your dog’s fur. Dunk any fleas in soapy water.
  • Wash your pet’s bedding every week using hot water.
  • Every day, vacuum or wipe down any furniture or surfaces that your pet’s been in contact with.

Some of the following chemicals may be safer to use than others:

  • Oral flea prevention pills that contain lufenuron, nitenpyram or spinosad “can be a better option, for both animals and humans, than treatments that leave residue on fur that might get on hands or furniture,” the NRDC says.
  • For topical products, the NRDC recommends those containing s-methoprene or pyriproxyfen, “which are less toxic ingredients—but read the labels carefully because some products use them with other, more harmful pesticides.”

Not surprisingly, the NRDC warns about using flea collars, which “can contain some of the most dangerous insecticides, including tetrachlorvinphos, carbaryl and propoxur.”

What to Do If Your Pet Gets Sick

If your pet becomes ill after wearing a Seresto flea collar or being treated with another flea and tick product, see your veterinarian. Report the illness by following these EPA guidelines.

GRRR: Lady Gaga’s Dogwalker Shot and French Bulldogs Stolen

April 29, 2021 UPDATE: The dognappers have been caught, including the “good Samaritan” (yeah, right) who turned in Lady Gaga’s stolen French Bulldogs. The five losers are all being held on charges including attempted murder.

Feb. 26, 2021 UPDATE: Koji and Gustave have been found unharmed! Last night an unidentified woman brought Lady Gaga’s two stolen French Bulldogs to a downtown LAPD station. The LAPD said the woman wasn’t involved with the shooting or dognapping. Those creeps are still at large, and it’s not yet known whether the woman will receive the $500,000 reward. In more good news, although he was shot in the chest with a semi-automatic handgun (!), dogwalker Ryan Fischer is expected to make a full recovery.

When my local KABC Eyewitness News reported the disturbing news last night that someone with a semi-automatic handgun had shot a man walking three French Bulldogs in Hollywood and then stole two of the dogs, my heart went out to the victim and the owner of the stolen dogs.

It turns out the owner of those Frenchies — Koji, Gustav and Miss Asia — is Lady Gaga. The victim is Ryan Fischer, her dogwalker.

When paramedics arrived at the crime scene, Fischer was conscious and still managing to hold onto Miss Asia, the dog who wasn’t stolen. In the video below, a police officer can be seen taking and comforting the frightened Frenchie. Fischer was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and, fortunately, is expected to recover from his wounds.

Witnesses say the gunman fled with the dogs in a white Nissan vehicle. Lady Gaga, who is currently filming a movie in Italy, is offering a $500,000 reward for the safe return of Koji and Gustav, no questions asked. The LAPD’s robbery-homicide division is investigating the crime.

It’s not known whether the creep knew he was stealing Lady Gaga’s dogs. An LAPD spokesperson told KABC that thefts of French Bulldogs are on the rise in the city.

Because they’re so popular, expensive and easy to pick up because of their small size, French Bulldogs are among the most stolen dog breeds, Tara Bruno, founder of the Short Noses Only Rescue Team (SNORT), a New Jersey nonprofit that rescues these and other dogs, told PEOPLE.

“Our whole family is upset and praying Koji and Gustavo are not harmed,” Lady Gaga’s dad, Joe Germanotta, told Fox News. “Help us catch these creeps.”

Anyone with information about Koji and Gustav’s whereabouts is asked to email KojiandGustav@gmail.com.

Photo: Justin Higuchi

Vacaville Police Defend Officer Punching Police Dog in Viral Video

APRIL 29, 2021 UPDATE: Good news — the Vacaville police officer who beat his K-9 partner will no longer be a police dog handler, according to interim Police Chief Ian Schmutzler. Not-so-good news — Schmutzler refused to comment on whether the officer faced any discipline or animal cruelty charges.

In a brief but very disturbing cell-phone video that’s gone viral, a Vacaville, Calif., police officer straddles his K-9 partner, punching the dog’s face. Hard.

The video was taken last week by Roberto Palomino, who’d been getting some tools from his warehouse when the incident occurred. “I can still hear the dog crying,” Palomino told CBS13. “There was an officer beating a dog really bad. It was closed-fist punching in the face to a dog. He punched the dog several times before I was able to get it on camera.” He was afraid to approach the officer, but he did the right thing and posted the video on social media.

Almost as disturbing as the video was Vacaville Police Captain Matt Lydon’s response to it. He told the San Francisco Chronicle the officer was holding the dog in a “standard” position of dominance because during a training exercise, the year-old Belgian Malinois had lunged at the officer and tried to bite him.

“In that situation, that’s a position of dominance where the dog is put on its back, and the canine handler takes that position, and that’s a submission position to let the dog know that the handler is in charge,” Lydon said. “I know there is a hand strike in question from the handler to the dog. There are certain scenarios where that may be appropriate, but we’re looking into this specific scenario.”

In a Dec. 29 Facebook post, the Vacaville Police Department (VPD) also defended the police officer, insisting the 25-second video “didn’t show the moments before, when the canine became aggressive toward its handler.”

In what specific scenarios would striking a dog ever be appropriate? Most dog trainers and animal behavior experts strongly advise against hitting a dog during training. Instead, using positive reinforcement such as praising the dog or giving them a treat when they do something right is much more effective and humane than negative reinforcement, which is punishing a dog when they do something wrong, as the Vacaville officer was doing. According to Lydon, the officer had in fact rewarded the dog with a toy after the dog successfully sniffed out narcotics. But when he took the toy away, the dog allegedly became aggressive.

“Physically threatening or harming an animal is never acceptable, regardless of the animal’s behavior,” wrote veterinary behaviorist Jeannine Berger, DVM, in a blog on the San Francisco SPCA’s website. “Dominance training damages the relationship with our dogs and causes more problems than it solves — being aggressive toward your dog will often cause your dog to become more fearful, anxious and potentially aggressive.”

Dominance training may get thumbs-up from the VPD, but it’s opposed by major organizations including the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior and the Association of Professional Dog Trainers.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the outrage on social media over the incident, the dog has been removed from the handler’s “care” and is currently staying with a third-party trainer while this case is being investigated. According to the VPD’s Facebook post, a veterinarian examined the dog and found no signs of injury or distress.

When the investigation is complete, “the City of Vacaville will take appropriate action – including any necessary discipline and/or training, as well as any needed changes to policies and procedures to ensure the police department’s canine program is in line with industry best practices,” the city wrote on its Facebook page Dec. 30.

Many thanks to Palomino, who likely saved this poor dog from further abuse by taking the video and posting it on social media. He deserves a reward, while the officer deserves to be charged with animal cruelty and never allowed to have another K-9 partner. Hopefully the City of Vacaville will keep its promise and have its police department undergo training in how to humanely train animals.

Here’s the very disturbing video, if you can stand watching it.

Photo: Roberto Palomino/Facebook

3 Reasons Why Cloning a Hero Dog Was Not a Good Idea

Six years ago, David and Alicia Tschirhart, who was pregnant at the time, went on a mountain hike in Escondido, Calif., with their yellow Lab, Marley. When Alicia reached down to grab what she thought would make a good walking stick, Marley raced over to her and started barking.

Marley’s actions saved Alicia’s life. It wasn’t a stick that she was reaching for — it was a rattlesnake.

Sadly, not long after the birth of the Tschirharts’ daughter, Marley was diagnosed with cancer. Although the hero dog didn’t survive it, he lives on…sort of.

Last December, the Tschirharts welcomed a new yellow Lab puppy into their family. Ziggy isn’t just any yellow Lab. He’s Marley’s clone. The Tschirharts paid $50,000 to have another dog who looks and acts, they say, just like Marley.

Ziggy was created by the scientists at ViaGen Pets, the only company in the United States that clones dogs and cats. They did this by inserting a skin cell from Marley into the nuclei of eggs that were harvested from donor pets. To start the embryo’s dividing process, it was given a shock. The modified embryos were then implanted, via invasive surgery, into a surrogate dog who gave birth to Ziggy.

ViaGen Pets charges $50,000 to clone a dog or $35,000 to clone a cat.

Sure, we’ve all probably fantasized about cloning a beloved dog so we’d have a carbon copy of them around for many more years to come. But then we consider the cost and ethics, and for most of us, the idea remains just that: a fantasy.

Still, there’s currently a one-year waiting list at ViaGen Pets. Here’s hoping some of those people wanting to clone their pets become aware of these three reasons why it’s really not a good idea.

1. Adopt, don’t shop (or clone). There are thousands of homeless pets, including plenty of yellow Labs, available at shelters and rescues (find a Labrador rescue group here). You will literally save yourself tens of thousands of dollars while saving a life in the process.

2. The exorbitant cloning fees could help thousands of homeless dogs. Along with the $50,000 ViaGen charges to clone a dog, there’s a $1,600 fee for “genetic preservation,” the biopsy to remove cells from the original dog. Think of all the shelters and rescue groups that would benefit from a $51,600 donation instead.

3. Cloning pets is unethical. It’s opposed by major animal welfare organizations including the ASPCA and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). According to a 2019 Gallup poll, the majority (66 percent) of Americans believe it’s morally wrong. Considering that 1.5 million pets are euthanized in animal shelters every year, it makes much more sense to save their lives than to create clones that won’t necessarily share the original pet’s personality.

Instead of cloning Marley, I wish the Tschirharts had instead paid his heroic act forward by saving a life — of a doomed shelter dog.

Photo: CC0 (that’s not Ziggy or Marley)

Denver’s Unfair Pit Bull Ban Could Have Finally Ended, But the Mayor Says No

People like me who have spent years advocating for the end of breed-specific legislation (BSL) — unfair laws, including breed bans, that single out dogs only because of how they look — were overjoyed earlier this week with the news that the Denver City Council had voted 7-4 to end the city’s 30-year Pit Bull ban.

Finally! It was so encouraging that the city officials of Denver, whose ban was one of the world’s most notorious, had realized BSL does not increase public safety. It’s also a big waste of money, costing taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to enforce. All BSL effectively does is punish well-behaved dogs and responsible dog owners.

But cancel those party plans. In a letter to the Denver City Council yesterday, Mayor Michael Hancock decided he could not “in good conscience support this legislation.” He claimed he’d heard from “thousands of residents” about the end of the ban. (And you can bet he heard from the hate group behind DogsBite.org, a website founded by a dog bite victim who wants all Pit Bulls destroyed.

Hancock claimed he talked to experts in veterinary care. That’s interesting, because the largest veterinary care group in the United States, the American Veterinary Medical Association, opposes BSL because it’s unfair and ineffective.

Although the Pit Bull ban could have been lifted, there still would have been special requirements for the owners of Pit Bulls, mixes and dogs that happen to look like Pit Bulls. The owners would have had to register their dogs with Denver Animal Protection, obtain a breed-restricted license, and have no more than two Pit Bulls.

Yes, these regulations singling out these dogs are still BSL (and B.S.), but removing the ban would have been an important, positive step.

“At the end of the day, I must ask whether passage of this ordinance would make our homes and neighborhoods safer or pose an increased risk to public safety,” Hancock wrote in his letter. “I have concluded that it would pose an increased risk.”

It would really be helpful to know what, if any, facts led the mayor to this decision. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), for example, states that it’s unaware that BSL makes communities safer for children or adults.

Denver’s Pit Bull ban was enacted in 1989 after a 3-year-old boy wandered into his neighbor’s yard and was fatally attacked by an unspayed Pit Bull who was chained to a carport, according to the Denver Post. Three years earlier, another of the owner’s dogs had bitten an 8-year-old boy. Because of that one irresponsible owner 30 years ago, thousands of Denver residents have had to make the terrible choice of finding a new home for themselves or their beloved dogs, or relinquishing their pets to the city to be euthanized.

“Breed bans usually come on the heels of a fatal dog attack, a knee-jerk reaction by city and county officials that might pacify a community for a while, but doesn’t do a thing to keep communities safer,” notes the Best Friends Animal Society. “It’s much easier to institute breed bans than to look at what caused those attacks.”

The potential good news is that Denver Councilman Christopher Herndon, who proposed ending the Pit Bull ban, promised he will introduce a ballot measure allowing voters to end the ban next November.

“I’m disappointed the mayor is choosing to disregard the science on the issue of breed-specific legislation,” Herndon said in a statement, according to the New York Times. “Research tells us breed-specific legislation is ineffective at keeping communities safe and experts in the field — from the local level to the national level — agree it is no longer best practice.”

So, Denver voters, please do the right thing in November and end your city’s unfair Pit Bull ban. You’ll not only be saving a lot of money but also the lives of countless dogs.

Photo: JussyD

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