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Toxic Pet Toys: A Doctor's Advice

Are pet toys safe? Answer: Hot air aside, no one knows

By Henry J. Fishman, M.D.
ConsumerAffairs.com

October 4, 2007

• RECALL LIST • Consumer Complaints --- News • CDC Links 2006 Salmonella Outbreak to Dog Food • FDA Orders Illinois Pet Food Maker to Clean Up Its Act • String of Illnesses Afflicts NUTRO-Fed Pets • Pet Owners Not Thrilled with Poisoning Settlement • Menu Foods Settles Pet Food Class Action • Many Pet Foods Still Missing From Store Shelves • Pet Owners Cheer Indictments in Toxic Pet Food Case • Indictments in Toxic Pet Food Case • Diamond Pet Foods Agrees To $3.1 Million Settlement • Tests Find More Toxic Pet Toys • Finding Safe Toys to Give Your Pet • China Agrees to Stepped-Up Food, Drug Inspections • Menu Foods Denies Acetaminophen Found in its Cat Food • Veterinarians Solve Pet Food Death Puzzle • Menu Foods Agrees to Test for Pain Killer in its Cat Food • Lab Tests Again Find Acetaminophen in Pet Food • Toxic Pet Toys: A Doctor's Advice • Consumers Respond to Toxic Wal-Mart Pet Toy Stories • Federal Import Safety Panel Outlines Proposals • Pet Industry Agrees on Need for Toxicity Standards • Industry Responds to Reports of Lead in Wal-Mart Pet Toys • Wal-Mart Attacks Lab Tests that Found Lead, Chromium in Pet Toys • Wal-Mart Reviewing Results of Tests on China-Made Pet Toys • Lab Tests Find Lead, Other Toxins in Pet Toys Sold at Wal-Mart • CANIDAE Denies Reports of Painkiller in its Pet Food • Lab Tests Find Painkiller in Samples of Pet Food • Purina Denies Claim on Bichon Frise Deaths • FDA Blocks Nutro Pet Food Shipment from Entering U.S. • FDA Testing Dog Treats Pulled from Wal-Mart Shelves • Wal-Mart Finds Melamine in Chinese-Made Dog Treats --- • More about Pet Food Recalls ...

According to a Consumer Affairs.com investigation, pet toys may contain dangerous levels of lead, cadmium and other toxins.

A big deal? You bet.

Pet toy safety is a newly-recognized national health problem which affects millions of pets, toys and kids. Imagine, your child or pet touches, licks and plays with pet toys, largely made in China, that can leach dangerous heavy metals from their surface coating and paints.

Sophisticated lab tests ordered by ConsumerAffairs.com, showed it can happen and stirred up a hornet's nest of issues, opinions and not a few denials.

Leaving aside the rhetoric, what does this mean to you as a parent and pet owner?

For starters, when it comes to pet toy safety, we have no tests, no studies, no standards, and no oversight.

No one knows which toxins are in your pet's toys, how much heavy metal there is, or what the long-term health effects are.

Until ConsumerAffairs.com brought the issue to light, no one seemed to care. There is no federal oversight and there's no evidence any of the states have paid much attention..

Toy manufacturers and retailers like PetCo and Wal-Mart say their products are safe, because they usually meet minimum safety standards for kids.

But, though we may love him like a son, Toto is not a kid. Toxins may affect cats and dogs differently than humans, especially over long time periods. And, since animals don't have hands, they spend more time putting things in their mouths than we do.

What to do?

As a nation we need more pet toy testing, more long-term studies involving animals, national standards for toxins in pet toys, and much more stringent governmental oversight. Also badly needed is research into whether pet toy toxins pose a risk to children and adults who interact with their pets.

Until then, talk to your vet, read the labels, buy American if you can, limit Toto's toy time and number of toys. "Organic" toys, like real rawhide, are probably safer than fancy, fluffy toys made from plastics.

Human hygiene is important too. Wash your hands after playing with your pet and teach your children to do the same.

Oh, and don't put Toto's toys in your mouth.

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