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Poisoning Our Pets

How a bug killer almost killed my dog


By Sue Sturgis

y dog Lucy nearly died in June 2005 when she was


accidentally poisoned by a common pesticide our
neighbors used on their vegetable garden.
Sevinan insecticide manufactured by Bayer CropScience in
Research Triangle Parkis widely believed to be safe. There are
68 formulations approved for use in North Carolina on everything from lawns to pets, and millions of pounds are applied each
year in the United States. But Sevins active ingredient, carbaryl, is
in fact a potent neurotoxin and suspected carcinogen, and federal
regulators are currently considering restricting its use.
Whether or not the government will take action to better
protect pets, people and the environment from this dangerous chemical remains to be seen. But in the meantime, I share
Lucys story in hopes of preventing others from suffering a
similar fate.
I first noticed something amiss one late June day when I
took Lucy and my other dog swimming at our favorite pond.
An 11-year-old pit bull, Lucy has a touch of arthritis and moves
slower on land than Zoe, a 3-year-old Aussie. But Lucy had
always ruled the water until that day, when she couldnt outswim Zoe to the sticks I tossed.
That night Lucys unusual behavior continued, as she
repeatedly got up from her bed and paced restlessly through
the house. When I got up to check on her, I found her bed
soaked with drool. When her slobbering continued the next
day, I took her to the vet.
After the exam, the doctor looked worried. Im feeling
some sort of growth in her abdomen, she said. Id like to
do some X-rays.
Oh God, I thought. Not cancer. My worst fears seemed to
be confirmed when the doctor put Lucys radiograph on the
light box and hit the switch. Even a non-medical professional
like me could see a dark shadow near her liver.
Over the next few days, the mystery of Lucys malady
deepened. Further tests showed it wasnt cancer, but whatever
she had was acutely serious. She was vomiting and growing
weaker. At first she was unable to navigate stairs and soon
couldnt walk at all. Eventually she couldnt even stand. She
also refused water, so I had to hydrate her by injecting fluid
under her skin.
At night Id lie in bed next to her, stroking her to sleep and
crying. I was watching my friend diebut of what?
I finally realized what was wrong with Lucy on July 4. To
celebrate the holiday, my next-door neighbors asked if it would
be OK to set off fireworks. I told them Lucy was terribly sick
and I feared the noise would stress her. But they went ahead
with their plans anyhow. That evening, as my dog trembled in
fear amidst the explosions, I seethed.
Vol. 25, No. 3, 2005

How inconsiderate, I thoughtand its not just the fireworks. I was also upset that my neighbors used chemicals on
their vegetable patch, which is only a few yards from my own
garden, and which is separated from my yard only by a sixinch-high decorative fence.
Then it struck me: They had sprinkled their garden with
some sort of white powder the same weekend Lucy got sick.
When the fireworks stopped, I went next door to find out what
the powder was.
Sevin Dust, they told me. Perfectly safe, they assured.
I looked up Sevin online and discovered the active ingredient was carbaryl. The symptoms of carbaryl poisoning
include excessive salivation, vomiting and muscle weakness.

Pets and Some Risks of Pesticides

A 1991 National Cancer Institute (NCI) study,


published in the Journal of the NCI, found that
dogs whose owners lawns were treated with 2,4D, four or more times per year, are twice as likely
to contract canine malignant lymphoma than
dogs whose owners do not use the herbicide.

Exposure to herbicide-treated lawns and gardens


increases the risk of bladder cancer by four to
seven times in Scottish Terriers, according to a
study by Purdue University veterinary researchers
published in the April 15, 2004 issue of the Journal
of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Research published in the December 1988 issue


of Preventive Veterinary Medicine links hyperthyroidism in cats to flea powders and sprays, lawn
pesticides and canned cat food.

Allethrin, a common ingredient in home mosquito products (coils, mats, oils and sprays)
and other bug sprays, has been linked to liver
problems in dogs, according to a 1989 study by
the World Health Organization.

The 1989 edition W.C. Campbell Toxicology textbook reports that chronic exposure to abamectin,
an insecticide often used by homeowners on fire
ants can affect the nervous system of dogs and
cause symptoms such as pupil dilation, lethargy,
and tremors.

Pesticides and You

Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides

Page 19

Sue Sturgis with her dogs.

I immediately called my vet at home. Could my dog have been


poisoned?
Eureka! Bring her in first thing in the morning, the doctor said.
The next day Lucy got the antidote, atropine. When I
fetched her from the animal hospital that afternoon, she was
groggy but able to walk. An ultrasound of her abdomen was
clear. What we thought was a tumor was actually a liver swollen with toxins.
Sevin poisoned my dogbut how? My neighbors decorative
fence, though flimsy, has always kept her off the garden. Did
the chemical drift onto her? Onto grass she then ate? Did she
walk in drift and lick her paws? We may never know.
When I told my neighbors what happened, they were aghast.
They had no idea Sevin could be so dangerous. In fact, they
had originally bought it to sprinkle on their own dog for fleas.
To my relief, they promised not to use chemical pesticides on
their garden anymore.
A confession: I have a reputation among family and friends
as a chemophobe. I garden and eat organically. I clean my house
with all-natural products. I even fought the city of Raleigh,
North Carolina over what I considered its reckless use of pesticides in parks, twice getting it in trouble with state regulators
before it adopted a more responsible pesticide policy.
But even I didnt get alarmed when my neighbors doused
their garden with what was obviously a pesticide. Even I failed
to make the connection between the chemical and my dogs
Page 20

illness. Like most Americans, I presumed that if its sold in


stores for home use, it must be safe.
The basic assumption that people bring to their purchasing is that availability in the marketplace equates to safety, and
that couldnt be further from the truth, says Jay Feldman,
executive director of Beyond Pesticides, a Washington-based
safety advocacy group.
In fact, though carbaryl was first approved for use in 1959,
its never been brought into compliance with modern safety
standards, according to Toxic Tradeoff, a recent report on carbaryl by the Washington Toxics Coalition. As early as 1969, a
U.S. government report called for restricting carbaryl after it
was found to cause birth defects in test dogs. Carbaryl is also
highly toxic to bees and has been linked to immune-system
cancer in farmers and brain cancer in children.
In 1980, five years after the Environmental Protection
Agency launched a special review over concerns about
carbaryls safety, the review was abruptly endeda political
and economic decision, according to Janette Sherman, M.D.,
then an advisor to EPA on pesticides and the Toxic Substances
Control Act.
Carbaryl is currently undergoing re-registrationthe federal process in which the EPA assesses a pesticide by current
standards. The agency has indicated it may make some changes
such as eliminating certain lawn care and pet uses, but safety
advocates worry regulators might not go far enough. In January
2005, 15 public health, farmworker, beekeeping and environmental groups called on the agency to end all uses of carbaryl
because of the harm it causes to human and ecosystem health.
Whats especially troublesome to me is that the pain and
suffering carbaryl causes is simply unnecessary.
There are so many non-toxic alternatives out there, says
Fawn Pattison, executive director of the Agricultural Resources
Center/Pesticide Education Project in Raleigh. Its not necessary to take risks like that, especially in your garden where
youre growing your own food. People should really think
twice before they reach for that can.
Lucy and I would agree.
Sue Sturgis is a writer for the Independent Weekly in Durham, North Carolina. This article originally appeared in the
August 3, 2005 issue of the Independent and is reprinted here
by permission.

lf you suspect your pet has been poisoned,


contact the American Society for the Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) Animal Poison Control
Center, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, at 888-4264435. A $50 consultation fee may be applied to your
credit card. After the emergency, contact Beyond
Pesticides to complete a Pesticide Incident Report.
We will use this information in the media as a way of
exposing an inadequate pesticide regulatory system
and exerting increased pressure for change.

Pesticides and You

Beyond Pesticides/National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides

Vol. 25, No. 3, 2005

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