Month: January 2011

Hartz Flea & Tick drops almost killed my dog

Bentley is a 2.5 yr old chihuahua mix weighing about 13 lbs. I applied the Hart Flea @ Tick drops for dogs 4-15lbs. My dog almost died. I applied them at approximately 5pm and around 10pm everyone went to bed as usual. Luckily he sleeps with my mom and she felt him shaking around 12am and felt a wet spot on the bed (which turned out to be vomit). She woke me up and it was a sight I will never forget. Bentley was shaking uncontrollably, couldn’t walk, drooling and had a heartbeat that was out of control. I immediately called my vet and she met me at her office. She immediately frowned when I told her what I had given him that day and told me to never use that again (worse thing on the market). We bathed him, IV was put in, valium was given and I was told not to get my hopes up because there was a high probability he wouldn’t make it. Luckily after 12 hrs of observation and more medication my Bentley was back to normal.

It cost me approximately $800 to save him. Trust me I would’ve paid anything but this would’ve never happened if Hartz wasn’t allowed to continue selling a product that is obviously killing/harming our pets. Please warn all your friends and family!! Maybe enough people will stop purchasing their products and they will finally go away.

This is ridiculous!

I cannot believe all these stories and poor people who have had traumatic experiences with their pets and this terrible brand. Thank god for this website!!! I had been buying frontline plus from my vet for Paisley. My mom told me to buy it at a store because it would be cheaper. Well they didn’t have any frontline and Paisley’s fleas are all gone but there might be some still in the apt so I decided to get her some Sergeant Silver flea and tick squeeze on. I put it on Paisley last night. She was napping in another room while I was doing homework. After a few hours she comes in acting strange.  She was walking very slowly and shaking all four legs like she had just stepped in a puddle of water.  So that’s what I thought had happened and went back to hw.  Less than an hour later I go to check on her and she is in the closet laying there barely able to stand up. She was walking so slowly now and had shaking in her legs. When I touched them or the back of her neck where the medicine was she would cry. Her personality was so different it reminded me of when she was coming off the anesthisia after getting spayed, like she was “drunk” and scared cause she didn’t know what was happening to her.  I googled sergeant silver’s flea medicine and this was the very first site that popped up. Obviously more people go on this website to complain about Hartz than to buy it or look at the products on their website. After skimming a couple stories I gave her a bath with dawn soap and water.  I scrubbed the back of her neck very good and washed everywhere else to make sure. That was a hassle since the last time I bathed her she was about half the size she is now! Then she was growling and crying (which she never does) when I dried her off like I was hurting her or she was just so sick she didn’t want to be bothered.  She was still pretty scared (and probably pissed)  for little while afterwards but she finally got up in bed and curled up never to me. When I woke up this morning she was still lethargic but her personality was back and no more shaking.  I went to class and came back to find her back to her normal self.  She played and played for hours and just laid down beside me for a nap 🙂 I’m outraged by all the victims (pets and owners) that have been scarred from this product. How can they keep this poison on the shelves with no warning to unsuspecting pet owners??? I am so pissed at this company something needs to be done to gets these dangerous chemicals from being sold.

Once again thank you so much for making this site and raising awareness. I am so grateful to have Paisley back to her normal funloving self 🙂

Cat vs Sargent’s Gold

OMG! Why didn’t I run a search before I used this poison! I was drawn to it because it says on the box..”clear dry” and I dislike the oily residue left by all these squeeze on’s. Not only is it just as messy requiring the cat be kept away from the children, but the poor cat spent 2 or 3 days with huge eyes and her body was very ridged feeling. She was better after a couple days, but now her hair is falling out in clumps and her neck is getting a bald spot! I will never use another Sargents product again!

Hartz Ultra Guard Flea and Tick Drops for cats

I applied Hartz Ultra Guard Flea and Tick Drops on my cat. She had a similar reaction: twitching, drooling and involuntary leg movements. I am amazed that this is on the market. I wrote to Hartz Customer Satisfaction Department. I am requesting a refund and reporting the adverse event. I assume that when I buy things off the shelf in the store that they are safe for use as directed. The FDA manages pet food and medicine. However, this product, and other topical flea treatments, are considered pesticides and are managed by the EPA. I am reporting the event to them as well. http://pesticides.supportportal.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=23008
Follow this link and click ask a question to submit the event. I know I am lucky because my cat bounced back after I bathed her. I think the reaction to this product is much worse if the animal ingests the product after grooming themselves.

Gave my cat hartz about 3 hours ago.

Well I had purchased Hartz Ultra Guard Pro for cats flea drops today. And when I had arrived home from work applied the flea medicine as it says to. As soon as I had applied the medicine she immediately started to rub the back of her neck and licking it off. At first I had thought that this is how a cat would just react to this kind of thing. So then about an hour goes by and I go to see what she is up to. And she is in the middle of a nap. And the entire area that I had applied the medicine on was a pinkish red, almost like blood.

I panic, looking for any areas of which blood is coming from. And I don’t find any. So now I don’t know if this is a chemical reaction or what. I got a wet rag and SOAKED her all of the area that the medicine had been exposed to. And then took some handsoap and re-soaked the area. Aswell as  starting to comb out everything.

I’m really freaking out. She is also have back leg spacisms. Every time she is beginning to walk and licking her toes and hands.

Here eyes are extremely dilated.

But she is eating and drinking water. She has used the bathroom.

I’m just really nervous that this is only going to get worse. I really regret not reading up about this stuff before buying it and using it on my poor cat. She doesn’t deserve this.

And I hope whoever reads this hopefully didn’t find out about all this in a state of panic.

My Story……

My little guy Marlo who is almost 17 yrs old recently started having what I though was seizures even though he had never had this problem before.  Just today I saw one happen and it looked like he was just walking and then passed out for a few seconds.  We have been to the vet and had tests run.  He is clean and green.  Tonight he had another attack and then it hit me.  Just a month ago we started using the Hartz flea and tick 30 days drops.  He was fine for a few days after the 1st application then he started “passing out”.  This seemed to go on for about 3 weeks or so but has tapered off lately.  Last week was his shower time and we re-applied the drops again as the 30 days were up…Bam after almost 2 weeks of him being pretty okay he has another attack tonight………….

Not sure why but my brain went into overdrive(I have a medical background) and I managed to put to the pattern together.  He was immediately washed and we will monitor him for a few days to make sure he is okay.  Thank goodness for all the info on the web and this site to help confirm my suspicions.  It just didnt make sense he is a healthy dog albeit an older one.

This really irritates me that a company can be so irresponsible.  I spent 20 years as a corpsman in the Navy and I remember vividly having to do the “bug spraying” of the mess decks and storerooms late at night in full protective gear and mask.  Its the same product…even back then I had to get blood tests done monthly and remember feeling shakiness in my hands the next day after a night of “spraying”.  Makes sense since this stuff can really affect the central nervous system.

I think with my little guy it was causing him to short circuit somewhere in his system and causing him to pass out.

I will monitor him and take him back to the vet and repost here as to how he progresses.

Sick Doggy :(

I am so shocked after readind this. Growing up I can remember my parents giving this to my pets all the time. I usually give my dog advantage just as a precaution. I haven’t given it to her in awhile so I was at walmart and decided to get her Hartz ultragaurd drops. WORST MISTAKE! Within 45mins to a hour she started to itch and rub herself anywhere to sooth herself. We put her in the bath right away. And scrubbed her down. I watched her over night. She is still uncomfortable and will only lay on her side/back. This seems to be a comfortable position where she wont scratch. She is sooo sleepy. Is this normal? Did anyone else have this issue. I called the vet and they said keep an eye on her. She should be fine if she is still doing her business and eating/drinking. I’m just wondering if she is out of the ball park or could there possibly be worst to come? It’s been 15-16 hours since we put it on her and bathed her.

Hartz Flea Medication nearly KILLED my cat.

I gave my cat the flea drops before going to bed the other night. I woke up to her making a ton of noise in the morning when I went and checked on her she was having a seizure. I managed to calm her down and bathe her to do what I could to get the “medication” off of her coat. She was spasming throughout the day so I took her into see the vet. While we were waiting for the vet she had a second seizure. At that time the vet put her on IV fluids, and diazapam and sent me to the local pharmacy to pick up human muscle relaxants. They then told me she had ingested/absorbed a lot of the poison and that she had a 50% chance of living, and with each seizure she is more likely to have brain damage. She stayed with the vet under critical care that night. My cat is a fighter and she pulled through. I have her at home with me now, she is still having spasms and is on the muscle relaxants. As for the brain damage, I wont know until she is off the medication. After reading up on Hartz products I am absolutely appalled that they are still on the market.

My heart goes out to those whose animals were not so fortunate.

this product should be taken off the shelves!

I used the hartz flea and tic drops on my 8 year old dalmation mix. Within 5 hours she was having horrible seizures. Her mouth was wide open, front and back paws flailing, foaming at the mouth, and urinating. This went on for about 2 minutes and then she had another one following the first one. This dog has never had any illness. After I researched and found this website, I washed her thoroughly and she seems to have recovered. This stuff is poison. There is no warning on the hartz ultra guard packaging about this type of reaction. We need to stop the sale of this poison!!!!

Hartz Flea and Tick Guard Gold almost killed my 3 dogs

After reading all of the other stories here, I feel fortunate that my dogs aren’t dead! I used this stuff on our three chiuhauhaus ( I don’t know how to spell it ) and I’m, our family is still really upset.

Our dogs started puking, trembles, involuntary jumps and kicks. They are also obviously hallucinating too. Biting at their toes and feet. Acting like they’re being attcked by fleas that don’t exist. Our oldest and smallest one 13yr old fmle, couldn’t stand up. We recognized association to the topical flea med and bathed them all again two and three times. Have had to lay with them almost constantly to comfort and calm them.

Luckily they kept eating and drinking.  Eventually resumed doing their business outside too. They are still far from normal more than 56 hours later. There should be a class action suit on this!

I truly fear my kids will never be the same again, ever!