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Sleep With Your Cell Phone? Don't Forget the Dog

March 13, 2006

Cell Phone Hazards • Study Finds Little Short-Term Cell Phone Health Risk • Cell Phones Linked to Bee Decline • Mayo Clinic Finds Cell Phones Safe in Hospitals • Origin of California Cell Phone Fire Disputed • Cell Phone Ignites, California Man Severely Burned • Study: Cell Phone Users Have Lower Sperm Counts • Study: Drivers Using Cell Phones As Bad As Drunks • Doctors Warn Against Cell Phone Use In Storms • Cell Phones Cleared in Gas Fire • Sleep With Your Cell Phone? Don't Forget the Dog • Feds Warn of Cell Phone Battery Hazards • Risk of Cell Phone Explosions Growing • Cell Phone Catches Fire • Battery Recall • Traffic Tickets • Gasoline Fires • Radiation Fears --- • Consumer Complaints

There are worse things than sleeping with your dog. Sleeping with your cell phone, for example .

Jeannine of Plymouth, N.C., was rudely awakened the other night by the frantic barking of her son's Labrador Retriever, who was sharing the bed with Jeannine's 15-year-old son and his Motorola cell phone.

The cell phone's battery overheated during the night, setting fire to the bed.

"The dog pulled the phone from the bed and my son beat out the flames with a pillow," Jeannine said. The boy suffered burns to his hand but there were no serious injuries.

Neither the dog's bravery nor the cell phone's perfidy is unusual. There have been numerous reports of cell phones catching fire -- sometimes while in someone's pocket. Some fires have been attributed to defective batteries, others to user error, such as using the wrong charger.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission last year issued some safety tips but didn't say anything about not sleeping with your phone.

Cell phone battery recalls handled by CPSC include the Kyocera Smartphone, Kyocera Slider, K400 and 3200 Series and Verizon Wireless LG-brand cell phones.

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