Max enjoying the warmth of the unlit wood stove last Spring.

Here’s a photo of my once healthy and vibrant cat, Max. He was 10 years old, and fourteen pounds.

Friend to all who entered my home, he also enjoyed the companionship of dogs! When I had friends over, Max was the life of the party.

I buried him yesterday. He died as a result of my putting a Hartz flea collar on him and leaving it on for a week before noticing he was becoming lethargic, eating habits were changing, and his whole personality was changing. I found this site in an attempt to find out what might be the reason for his declining health, and was horrified to learn that I was poisoning him with what I thought to be a safe product. The collar came off immediately, but the damage had been done. After that, all I could do was keep him comfortable and cared for until the end.

If I’d only known beforehand … my dear pet would still be with me and I wouldn’t be writing this letter. Everyone I do know now knows Max’s story, and about this site. Thank You.

Yesterday I discovered that my Sheltie of a year and a half Benny (A mini Lassie if u want) had fleas.. so I was concerned, ran to Rite Aid and the ONLY product I see there was a HARTZ.. i come back home, apply the shampoo and put the actual flea control thing.

Afterwards. I decided to come online just to check HARTZ reviews OUT OF CURIOUSITY, I see this website.. I BECOME HYSTIRICAL took Benny and washed him  right away and kept him under supervision..

NOW WHERE THE SCARY PART COMES.. I realize after that that some of my dog’s fur have LITERARELY melted and got mixed up so i had to cut some of it because it had formed like a SOLID BALLS OF HAIR… It was REALLY weird.. at first i thought some of the people here are exagerating but now i know it is the truth..

I thank God it was ONLY his fur..  I don’t care, the Fur will grow back but YOU GUYS HAVE SAVED BENNY’S LIFE SO THANK YOU because if it weren’t for you, i wouldn’t have acted and washed it away ASAP.

I FEEL ASHAMED TO LIVE IN A COUNTRY WHERE THIS PRODUCT IS STILL ON THE MARKET.. A LEGAL ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN.. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!

Well we are keeping our fingers crossed and praying. A day or so after  applying the Hartz Ultraguard  Chewch began to vomit and have severe diarreah. He became lethargic and could hardly stand up. We quickly went to the Vet who took blood, gave him subQ liquid injections for dehydration and medicine to control the vomiting and diarrhea.  As much as I hated to do it because he was so sick…I gave Chewch a quick Bath too. The next day we got the news……very high Kidney blood numbers- possible Kidney malfunction.  The Vet  asked if we changed anything or “gave him anything ”. I mentioned we used Hartz brand Flea and Tick drops which his assistant replied “Oh no…not good”…you should use Frontline” but did not elaborate so I just figured they were just trying to sell their product as opposed to the  otc   product.

It was’nt until a co-worker who is vehemently against the use of all of these Flea /tick pesticides, even many of the controversial shots that are given annually… opened my eyes and said to look into the possibility that it was this Hartz product that caused my Yorkies illness. He said I should check if other pet owners have had similar incidents with Hartz too.

After reading all of the horrible stories here  it didnt take long for me to put the puzzle together noting the similarities of Chewchs symptoms to many of the Victims here.    Ok so can I prove  that Hartz UltraGuard did this to Chewch…maybe not. All I know are the  above facts  as well as the many similar stories and incidents here which strongly point to the possibility that Hartz Ultraguard nearly killed my Yorkie.  I can only  find comfort in saying  “nearly killed” Chewch because he has slowly improved over the past few days but may not be out of the woods yet. You can bet that Hartz will be getting a vehement phone call and a letter from me blasting them for their use of this Terrible poison. What makes this even mor despicable is  …Hartz…a long standing company who I thought was in the business of bettering the health of Pets is putting out a product that they market as a remedy which clearly should be removed but have failed to do so for whatever reason.  I will be demanding that I be given a case number and be either wholly or partially compensated for the nearly $1,000 I had to pay out in Vet bills . I unfortunately will join the Alumni of other Pet Owners who have been Victimized by a clearly DANGEROUS Product. Please pray for my Yorkie Chewch. I will pray for all your Pets. Pass this on to any of your friends  and family who own pets as I have…DO NOT USE HARTZ.

She was catatonic, very sleepy.  I thought maybe she was just half-freaked from a bath.  The next day she didn’t eat or drink much and only wanted held.  I took her to the vet the next morning, they gave her a bath to get all the Hartz off of her and hooked her up to IV’s.  They kept her overnight.  Today they informed me she had fluid in her lungs from cardiac distress.  She held on a few more hours, but passed away this afternoon.

I broke the news to my 7 year old.  He lost his father a year and a half ago to cancer, and now he has another loss.  A useless loss that never should have happened.  I wish Hartz could have been with me to see my little boy sob.  They should be held accountable for this!

1. Check for fleas the MINUTE you bring an animal home, and continue to check as we know that the flea cycle is basically the most evil thing ever invented and will perpetuate the existence of fleas in your home. Don’t let it get to the point that your pet is crawling in fleas to do something.

2. For my 7 week old kitten, who had about 15 fleas that we picked off of her by hand, being submerged (except for head) in a couple of gentle baths using a small amount of blue Dawn Dishsoap was enough to kill many fleas. We found it was most effective for investigation of the scalp/skin for her to be damp as we could more easily see fleas crawling around. If you sit with your pet and talk to them gently as you use a flea comb (only called so because of its fine teeth) and some tweezers, you can get a lot of fleas off of your pet. Be sure to have a bowl of hot soapy water to put the fleas in as they can hop away pretty quickly.

3. I just got a sample of a Flea and Heartworm application called Revolution (Selamectin) from my vet at the kitten’s first visit. It looks legitimate, however the side effects listed on the product (quite clearly, might I point out) sound really similar to some of the side effects experienced by drugstore pet products. I am concerned about using this product on my pet, so if anyone has had good luck with it, please post!

All in all, I think the best way to handle fleas on pets is to pay attention to them, groom them regularly, and always talk to a vet before you give your pet anything chemical.

my stepmom washed her dog with hartz bath soap and the dog staggered around, fell over, ran into things and temporarily went blind.

I despise Hartz . they won’t clean up their act, I’ve alread had that clearly proved by our discussion. I hope someone will close them down to protect all pets and their owners from this day on.

As a Vet tech working with animals, it breaks my heart when i see a kitten, cat, puppy or a dog come in to our clinic after using a hartz product. This stuff is so dangerous, we see animals come in shaking, foaming at the mouth, skin red and raw and even seizing. We sometimes have to stay overnight on a seizure watch. I know this stuff is cheaper then the advantage or revolution but if your pet needs to come in for an emergency, be placed on IV fluids, given medication and then hospitalization this will run you anywhere from $500-1000 with no guarantees of saving your pet.

I try to tell our clients about the dangers of pyrethrin based products such as hartz but some of them don’t believe me because they think we are just out to get there money- news flash: I didn’t go into this emotionally, mentally and physically exhausting proffesion for the money (we barely make above minimum wage) I did it because I love animals and want to help you protect your furry family members.

This is a pestacide- Do you really want that on your pet? Also what about that one year old that pets the cat? The reason these people CAN get away with this is because its a PESTACIDE and are not under the same FDA guidlines and restrictions as prescription products such as advantage and revolution.

I’m glad to see this website and hopefull it saves countless lives. Because as much as I love to see your pets I love to see them happy and healthy more!

My dad eventually noticed how bad the fleas were getting when he saw them on Kikyo’s white belly, and decreed we had to do something about this. Eventually we bombed the house, and during that time I had the kitties treated at a local salon, the bombing failed though and I had to take them back to the salon. According to this place, one of the collars actually broke during a wash and got tossed, the other? It was suggested I get rid of it. I said “I will gladly do so, because these things were useless!” as I went to throw the other collar in the trash, I exclaimed “Hartz sucks!” and from there the salon worker told me they had someone come in for an emergency to get a Hartz product off their pet, I realized how fortunate I was to have my two kitties here today without much adverse effects at all, had I kept them on my kitties any longer, who knows what would’ve happened. Let’s just say I am using Frontline from now on, it has been working and though I saw one living flea on Kikyo one day after getting them home from my dad’s friend Cindy’s house during the time they were there before the exterminator arrived to take care of this problem, since then, I’ve seen nothing. Hartz is as useless and deadly as the day is long. If you really care about your pets, do NOT buy Hartz!

In April of this year, we used the Hartz Anti Flea and Tick medication on our chihuahuas, and it brought me to tears. My oldest chihuahua, Max, could not even walk without screaming and yelping. The pads on his feet were burnt from the crap we put on him, and he was twitching, and could not stop. Minnie, only about 4 years behind him, began to shake and twitch. It was so heart aching to watch. The veteranarian straight up told us that Hartz is pure poison, and that it should never be used on any type of animal, no matter the age, type, height, or weight. He also said that they could’ve suffered from seizures, and could have had permanent neurological damage if we had waited another day to take them to the vet. My mother took care of them the whole way through, and I helped feed the dogs as they would not feed themselves.

Today, I noticed a few fleas on Minnie, and I quickly gave her a bath and checked her for them afterwards. As a precaution, I looked in our cleaning cabinent, and noticed the flea and tick spray in there. I thought that if it was harmful, that my mother would’ve thrown it away, so I went about using it. I sprayed on the furniture, a little bit of the carpet, and my dog’s cage where she sleeps, unknowing that is was made by the same company that made the flea and tick stuff we used on them in April. My mother stopped me in the middle of doing so, telling me that it was the poison that hurt the dogs, so I freaked out, and am washing the pillows, blankets, and the blanket in my dog’s cage in the wash right now. I cleaned out her cage, and am very nervous about letting the dogs out around the house. I am at my wits end with Hartz! I dont know what will happen if I let them out around the sprayed furniture, and I’m not sure what to do. I hate Hartz, and they are nothing but a cheap corporation that takes money from unknowing consumers! How could you sell shit like that to consumers looking for a solution as simple as fleas? I would rather my house be infested with fleas than to have another Hartz problem! NEVER use Hartz, please, it is not worth dealing with and getting into! Always read online about medications for your animals, you don’t want them to suffer from the horrible poison effects from Hartz or other harmful fake flea and tick products!

We just adopted a kitten, and i was given a Hartz flea and tick collar for him by my grandma, and i was busy at the time so i just threw it up on the counter.  Well tonight i thought about putting it on him, and i had heard things in the past about Hartz so i decided to google them, and a bunch of complaint sites popped up and I clicked on this site.

All i can say is thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing your stories.  I know some of them had to be painful.  Your stories helped save my little kitty.  That collar is now in the bottom of my trash can, and i will never again use there products.

I am writing this in hopes it will add momentum to having this product removed.

my furry child (Seb) has been on frontline flea preventative for over 10 years now, with much success.. i have never noticed more than one flea on her, until this year. it has been very hot, and very dry–ideal flea romance weather apparently. needless to say, she has a LOT of fleas, and the frontline was just not cutting it, so my vet advised me i needed to supplement with some other method to help keep her comfortable.. she gave me many options, but i needed some time to think about it.

after much consideration, i really didnt want to give her anything else that may be potentially harmful to her, so i decided to simply bathe her more frequently (luckily i have no carpet-hence no house fleas) to try and rid her of the annoying itching. first couple times went GREAT.. killed and washed all fleas harmlessly down the drain… then i noticed within hours (after being outside) that she just picked up more, so i came up with this wonderful idea to get some flea spray to put very lightly on her legs to discourage the nasty blood suckers from jumping on her and hopefully extend the flea free afterbath for at least a couple days… off to the store i went..

i purchased Hartz 3 in 1 flea spray for DOGS.. at the local walmart (brand has been there for AGES, so i thought it must be okay)…. went home eager to help my bestest bud with her constant itching problems.. put Sebbe in the bath and washed away all those nasty fleas (once again) dried her off, and lightly (4 sprays) covered her legs from elbows down… within 15 minutes she COLLAPSED.. could not walk, drooling uncontrollably..  OFF TO THE BATH WE WENT.. i knew, from working at the shelter and the vet that she was having a reaction and washed it all off immediately!!!!

OFF to the vet we went… she was bathed several times.. and monitored closely for the next several hours. still drooling but seemed to be regaining her balance and walking ability–so she was brought home.

the next day however, the real damage reared its ugly head, [b]she is completely paralyzed on one side of her head[/b]. cannot blink, cannot hold her tongue in, cannot eat unassisted, cannot drink effectively.. the entire right side of her face just hangs several inches below the left. she is damaged beyond belief.

PLEASE, i dont care what kind of pet you hold near and dear to your heart… PLEASE do not use any of the Hartz products. the vet told me i am very lucky that she is alive!!

after the damage was done, i found several websites and stories related to the damage done my hartz products… a day late and a dollar short. this company MUST be held responsible for the blatant disregard for the health and safety of our pets–

www.hartzkills.com
www.HartzVictims.org
www.hartzsyndrome.com

please pray for sebbe, and all of the other victims living with disabilities from this monsterous product.

feel free to contact me by email with any information on joining a class action lawsuit.. they must be STOPPED!!

We applied Hartz 3 in 1 flea and tick drops on my Westie on August 5, 2010. I had previously used the same drops on her with no problems 30 days earlier.
That evening after applying the drops around 3:00 in the afternoon, I did not notice any reaction. At bed time, Rose sleeps with us and seemed restless to find a sleep spot on the bed. (Usually goes right to bed where ever you put her) Didn’t think anything of it until this morning she does not lift her head when we get out of bed. Just layed there flat on her side sleeping, I finish my shower and she has still not moved. I put her on the floor and she will not stand! OH MY GOD!!! She is paralyzed!!!  I carry her downstairs and take her out to the back yard, she will not walk or stand,  her rear and hind legs are paralyzed.
I remember that I put the flea drops on her the afternoon before.
I give her a bath in case the drops could be the cause of her problem. She is trembling slightly but I am not sure if that is from being cold from her bath or trembling from the reaction. Husband takes her to the vet and they think it could be a reaction to the flea drops.

As a precaution they x-ray both hind legs to check for injury (No injury)

They give her a charcoal treatment to reduce and absorb the toxins in her system. The vet gives her another bath to wash off the drops as much as possible. Vet calls Hartz to report the incident and to get direction from the company of what they recommend. They tell Vet to do what they are doing and she should be fine. Hartz did say it sounded like a overdose of the flea and Tick drops!  We now have a case number for our incident.

It is 3:00 on Friday August 6th , 2010 – 24 hours after the flea drops where applied. Called the vet to check on Rose and no change, she is still trembling and they have her on diazepam to help her relax.

When we picked her up at 5:00 that evening she was responsive and walking. She threw up all evening and into the night and could not keep water or food down. On Saturday morning she threw up one time and has not since then. She seems to be completely back to normal even wanting to play with her toys.

Her vet said that the 48 hours would be the time frame to know if she would recover or not. Some dogs that have a reaction to this insecticide get kidney and liver damage and die. Others do like my Rose and recover fully.

It is like Russian roulette with these flea and tick drops, I have been giving all my pets over the counter flea and tick drops for years and have never had one have a bad reaction. I will not be taking that chance again.

I am so glad someone posted there story so I could find it when I had a problem with my westie. If I had not read others stories I might not have realized what was wrong with her and waited to long for her to be treated and risk permanent damage.

Products that can harm animals need to be off the market. Our vet said they are not even allowed to make this product anymore. Why can they still sell it? It is not only in the flea drops it is in all of there flea products, dips, shampoos etc…