DANGER! PLEASE READ The Dangers of Cocoa Mulch THE DANGERS OF COCOA MULCH FLEA / TICK PRODUCT AWARENESS This is a new product designed to be a more effective product than other flea/tick treatments that was just released this year. It is available through a vet and not currently on-line. I got ProMeris this week for my 7 dogs (6 Huskies & 1 Golden-Airedale) , and the results were debilitating for nearly all of them-including me. Since my incident this week, my vet has pulled it from distribution and alerted the manufacturer, Fort Dodge. Here are my results: Within less than 2 hours after applying, 4 of my dogs had vomited from 2-4 times, 3 were disoriented and stumbling, 1 was dragging his back leg, 1 was salivating. I had very similar symptoms like an allergic reaction-my lips were swollen, eyes very red, mucous membranes such as eyes, nose, and mouth were stinging. I was very disoriented-dizzy equilibrium and not able to drive. To make this a short story-all 7 of my dogs were admitted to the hospital for veterinarian care, and 3 of them remained for care, IV fluids and observation for 24 hours. I was in the emergency room. I'm home now and so are the dogs. We're all feeling much better. Vet bills were over $2,500 and Fort Dodge is paying for these. Not only can the product cause this reaction, it has a highly noxious odor that permeated the house and is just starting to dissipate after 3 days. Your dogs/cats might not have the same reaction, but given my experience. I wanted to help you all become well-educated about the product. Kathryn L. Leinthall DANGEROUS TOY ALERT Kongs are fine as they have a hole in the top too, so a vacuum isn't caused inside. On this toy, each end is solid but in the middle they aren't, so please let this be warning to anyone who may have one or anything similar. I wanted to warn everyone about an incident that occurred in my home with 2 of my own dogs a couple of days ago and could all to easily happen to yours! Let me start by saying all is well - now! The dogs "Bailey" (staff x adopted from MT as a tiny pup) and "Tag" (was Rodney - terrier x, adopted recently) are the best of friends. They play really well together but often a little wildly!!They have a habit of dragging each other around by their necks and collars. The other day I was sat at my desk - the dogs were wrestling away behind me - when I realised there was this "odd" noise. I turned round to see what they were doing and found Tag laying on his back with Baileys collar twisted around his bottom jaw and stuck behind his canine teeth. Bailey was being strangled by his own collar which was so tight it was digging into his skin - he could not get any breath! I tried to hold them still - both were trying to free themselves - which was just making things worse. There was no way of getting the collar off of Tag's jaw. Then blood began to come from Bailey's nose and mouth. I was horrified - I knew I had very little time!! I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a carving knife. The collar was digging so tight into Bailey's neck I thought I was going to cut him as I tried to get the knife under the collar. I sawed and sawed and thank goodness the knife cut through the nylon collar. Tag was terrified by his ordeal and ran to hide in a corner. Bailey sat there shaking and gasping in air - blood still coming from his nose and mouth. I truly thought at that moment he was going to die!! Bailey's breathing eased. The bleeding stopped and I managed to just about dial the number for the vet with VERY shaky fingers!! After a complete vet check up, all was well and both dogs are right as rain except Bailey looks like the "devil dog" with 2 completely bright red bloodshot eyes! If I had been upstairs or even in another room there is no doubt Bailey would have died from strangulation. This is a thought that keeps spinning round and round in my head!! I thought my trauma was a "freak incident" but after relating my horror story to various people I have found out that strangulation by the collar is actually quite a common problem! I have now been told of several dogs getting tangled up as my dogs did in play. Other tales of dogs getting caught on fencing and gates, in bushes and wire when out on walks and even their tags being caught in their travel crate! I immediately took collars off all my dogs but was then worried about them not wearing ID - which is so very important even if they are micro chipped as well. I need to know if they were to get out/lost - they could easily be reunited with me, as they have my phone number on their ID discs. I have placed an order for some special collars - they have a catch on them that automatically comes undone if the collars are put under excess strain - so I can make sure my dogs wear their collars with ID discs and will be safe from strangulation! They aren't cheap! But they will be worth every penny if it means I never have to go through anything like that again. Please please be extra careful if you have 2 dogs that play as mine do - and maybe consider the safety collars for your own dogs. For more info please feel free to contact me - Tracey-ManyTearsRescue@Blueyonder.co.uk Tracey Reproduced with permission from http://www.highlanedtc.co.uk/general_information.htm Please don’t ever be tempted to throw sticks for your dogs. My dog had a very bad experience and I wouldn’t like it to happen to yours. I don’t throw sticks for my dogs. Balls yes but not sticks. When out in the local park one day my dog decided to join in the fun with a group of children whilst they threw sticks up a tree trying to knock conkers down. Unfortunately my dog landed on top of one of the sticks, which went straight down her throat. Seven stitches later at a cost of 100 to the vet, we then had to endure her crying whenever she ate or drank anything for around 3 - 4 days and believe me it was no fun hearing her suffer in this way. I wouldn’t want anyone to go through the same unpleasant experience with their dogs so ……… please don’t throw sticks. Likewise: - Please don’t ever be tempted to throw stones for your dogs. A few years ago we packed hastily for a short holiday, which we weren't looking forward to due to a member of the family being very poorly. The day before we were to return home we took our 20 month old dog for a walk on the beach and because we hadn’t packed his ball we started to throw pebbles in opposite directions so that he was running back and forth but not actually reaching the pebbles, we only did this a few times but unfortunately we decided to throw one last pebble before going back and it was this pebble that landed on another one and ricocheted back hitting him hard in his mouth. He cried out and ran towards us with blood coming out of his mouth, when we looked his lower canine had shattered. We immediately rang our vet for advice and went to see him on our return. He said the enamel had sheared off to the gum and the nerve was exposed if it was left like that it would quickly rot and an abscess would develop causing more problems, but if he was to attempt to extract the tooth his lower jaw would more than likely break because the remaining tooth was healthy, he therefore recommended that we had it capped. He made enquiries and referred us to a vet specializing in dentistry at Nantwich veterinary hospital who confirmed what our vet had said and proceeded to cap the tooth. We felt extremely guilty for causing our dog unnecessary suffering and at a cost of 250 it was a small price to pay to alleviate the pain. We learnt a very valuable lesson that day which was that no matter what situation you find yourself in accidents do occur and we wouldn’t want anybody to have a similar experience with there dog ……… so please don’t throw stones. Caroline Lindsey & Lindsay Cheshire. Editors Comment Cases like this are not that unusual I have known similar things happen… A dog getting a small stuck across it’s throat, which went, unnoticed by the dog’s owner as it didn’t (at first) cause the dog any real discomfort which rotted and caused a nasty abscess which required serious vet treatment A dog, which chewed a stick and managed to get splinters imbedded in its jaw that caused infection and again large vet bills BUT THE WORST An owner threw a stick for his dog, the stick stuck up at an angle in the ground and the dog ran onto the stick chest first impaling itself on the stick. THE DOG DIED. A dog carrying a stick but by the end of the stick, the dog was running, it dipped it’s head the stick went down the dog’s throat. THE DOG DIED. I know all the people and the dogs involved in these incidents. I cringe when I see dogs carry large sharp sticks or owners throwing sticks end over end. A spear is a sharpened stick, nothing more WE ALL HAVE THROWN STICKS OR STONES OR STILL MAYBE DO FOR OUR DOGS NEXT TIME YOU PICK UP A STICK OR A STONE…………THINK
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