Update 6/21/04: Hamish has not had ANY seizures since we stopped using Bio Spot 24 months ago, and appears to have made a full recovery. We are thankful for each day that he is with us.
Farnam reimbursed us for Hamish's medical expenses, provided that we accept it as "FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT FOR THE ALLEGED ADVERSE REACTION TO BIOSPOT."
Here are some of the e-mail messages that I have received from others whose dogs and cats experienced adverse reactions after using flea control products. I have no way of knowing if the information in these messages is factual, or if the products they used were the actual cause of the adverse reactions.
CAUTION: This information is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended to replace professional veterinary advice. Please consult with your veterinarian before giving any treatment to your animals.
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This was an email I had sent to PetsMart regarding Bio Spot and their response is below it:
Customer's comments:
I have tried numerous of times to contact the home office and I get no return call. I want to inform you that the product Bio Spot almost killed my cat. If I wouldn't have notice as early as I did she would be. There is a web site filled with complaints about this product
(http://www.elversonpuzzle.com/biospotletters.html) there is over 35 pages worth. There have been 12 related cases at my vet's office alone this year. That doesn't include the rest the town. I spent a great deal of money saving my cat and I am contacting my lawyer about this situation. Your company has been notified as well as the manufacturer. This product is killing animals EVERY year and they don't deserve it. You are suppose to be a company saving lives but yet you are helping kill them by keeping this product on your shelf. I have contacted many of the people who have experienced the same as I if not worse and we all plan to do this together if nothing is done.
Jeff 10/14/03
PETSMART RESPONSE
Dear Customer,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us here at PETsMART. At PETsMART we take the health and safety of pets very seriously. We work closely with our suppliers to make sure every product we offer is safe. The Environmental Protections Agency (EPA) regulates all flea and tick prevention products. The EPA does test the products for safety on a quarterly basis.
Like all products, the directions for use must be followed closely to ensure the safety of flea and tick products. It is extremely important that the correct product and type is used for your pet. It is also imperative to read all the instructions and use only as directed and contact a veterinarian with any questions.
In addition, like many other medications, supplements or pet foods, they too can cause an allergic reaction. We strongly recommend that our customers, who want to use these products read the labels carefully and research what is best for your pet. We encourage our customers who have questions to call the manufacturer as well as consult with their veterinarian.
Thank you for your time and concern.
Regards,
PETsMART Customer Service
It's true that many adverse reactions to flea control products are the result of a failure to follow the instructions and caution statements on the label (which are often in fine print). These statements often contradict the statements from companies that sell it (i.e. "Safe - for your pet, family, and the environment! As veterinarians, we recommend only products that are safe."). Animals can develop allergies to pesticides (and the other ingredients which are not required to be disclosed on the packaging), but only AFTER being exposed to them. However, many adverse reactions occur even when the instructions are followed, and are caused by the inherent toxicity of the pesticides. It's important to remember that these products are designed to kill organisms.
The companies that manufacture and sell these products often blame the victim by asserting that adverse reactions are caused either by the failure of the consumer to follow directions or a chemical allergy (meaning that the genetic individuality of the animal, and not the product, is the cause of the adverse reaction).
James TerBush
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I wish I researched this product before using it. I used Bio Spot on my chocolate lab "Cisco" and my (outdoor) cat "Enkydo" about a week ago. Thiswas the second time I used the product. Cisco seemed fine but the cat freaked out a little. I only used about 2 drops of Bio Spot (*for cats*) on the cat and he jumped off the counter. He shook himself off like water had been spilled on him and wanted to go outside. I didn't think much about it and let him out. He'd been gone for a few days which isn't that uncommon for him. Today I got a call from a neighbor who found Enky DEAD behind his garden and had the county animal control take Enky away. As soon as I heard it happened in a backyard and not on a road I immediately became suspicious of the Bio Spot. Your site has convinced me that I poisoned my little Enkydo. Thank you for posting this information and let's hope more and more people find it before it's too late.
Sam 10/22/2003
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I had also used Biospot on my 3 cats - 2 adults and 1 kitten (8 months old). This was
the first time I had used this product and had just about everyone tell me how good the product worked. I had applied it to all 3 of my cats around 11:00pm then went to bed. Around 2:30am I was awaken to my kitten howling and hissing. So when I went in to see what was wrong she was on the floor thrashing around and I had thought she had swallowed something and it had gotten stuck in her airway. I just held her and loved on her then she started having seizures. So I had called a vet and he told me to rush her in. Before I was getting ready to leave my other 2 cats started the same thing.
I was NEVER so scared in all my life. Needless to say after I got my cats to the vet an hour after we left my kitten had died and the other 2 wasnt looking very well. My other 2 cats did make a recovery after 3 days in a coma. My cats are home now but still "twitch" every once in a while. I am so upset and hurt that I lost one of my cats and a product like this one can be on the market. I know it wont do any good to contact the company and get them to be responsible for their product but I do believe that it should be taken off the market. I am happy my cats are alive but dont know if it will affect their system forever. I am also glad to hear your dog made it through his terrible ordeal.
Mary 10/24/03
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I was relieved to see your information. I was starting to think that I was crazy. I nearly put my dog to sleep this morning because she has been so ill. She is geriatric as it stands and was recently treated with biospot. I thought her problems were due to her age, but I could just not accept that the rate of her decline was due to her old age.
She has been on a 90 mph downward spiral for 3 weeks. I was supposed to Euthanize her at 11:00 am today and all weekend I begged for some kind of signs to make sure I was doing the right thing.
Just last Tuesday after being kenneled at the vet she was bathed before I picked her up. Every day since her bath her condition (bloated stomach, leg paralysis, shaking, tremors, no appetite) had started to decline and she began to seem better.
I was confused and continued to watch her throughout the week. As she improved I became more confused and felt as if euthanisation might be the wrong thing at the time. But I could not explain how she seemed to be improving from her geriatric condition.
Last night at about midnight I was racking my brain and thinking about the timeline of her rapid decline and realized that her downward spiral began just about three to four days after we treated her with biospot.
Ever since that bath on Tuesday Nov 11th she has been getting better. And then it started to make sense. The biospot had been washed off and she had 5 days without the poison on her body. Five days to show me it wasn't time for her to be put to sleep.
I has scheduled her euthanisation just last Friday for today (Monday 17th) and had the good fortune of witnessing her dramatic improvement over the weekend. I was so unsure as what to do and whether or not I was doing the right thing by putting her to sleep. I was asking God for a sign or something to tell me that I was doing the right thing.....
I gave Isabelle, our dog, another bath last night. I felt like the least I could do was send her to her death bathed and clean. After I showered her with affection and poured my heart out to her I came downstairs and sat in the dark. And that is when it all started coming to me. The Biospot, the paralysis, she has been poisoned.
I called my vet first thing this morning to ask if it was possible that the biospot paralized her hind quarters on and off and she said it was a possibility. Needless to say I cancelled her being put to sleep and did a complete 180 degree turnaround.
Isabelle continues to show improvement, especially since the second bath she had last night. She is 150% better than she was when I picked her up from the vet last Tuesday when she was also bathed.
I know in my gut that the Biospot almost killed my dog and I nearly followed it up by doing it myself. I am beside myself that this product was made available to me and was so dangerous to her.
I want you to know that tonight when I found your website it confirmed my suspicions. Thank you for posting it. I know that my dog will continue to improve as she has been, now that the biospot is off of her.
I am sorry that I did not write a more well edited e-mail to you but I am so anxious to get this message to you. If you want me to rewrite my story so that you can post it along with your web information I would be happy to . More pet owners need to know about this. Please feel free to contact me.
April 11/18/03
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MY HUSBAND PURCHASED ZODIAC FLEATROL AT PETCO AFTER HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH AN EMPLOYEE. THE EMPLOYEE TOLD HIM TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR POODLE HAD PLENTY OF WATER BECAUSE THE PRODUCT COULD CAUSE THE DOG TO BECOME THIRSTY. SHE ASSURED HIM THAT IT WAS SAFE. I APPLIED THE PRODUCT TO MY 7LB 2OZ TOY POODLE AFTER CAREFULLY READING WHERE IT SHOULD BE PUT ON HIM. SHORTLY AFTER APPLICATION, MY POODLE BECAME VERY THURSTY AND HE SEEMED TO HAVE WEAKNESS IN HIS LEGS BY THE NEXT DAY. BY THE NEXT DAY I NOTICED HE WAS ONLY DRINKING AND NOT EATING. I TRIED TO TAKE HIM FOR A WALK THE THIRD DAY AND HE STARTED TO FALL OVER WHEN HE TRIED TO GO TO THE BATHROOM. I HAD NOTICED THAT HE HAD LOST ALOT OF WEIGHT AND WHEN I PETTED HIM I WAS ABLE TO FEEL THE BONES ON HIS BACK AND THE RIB AREA. I CALLED THE VET THE NEXT MORNING AND TOLD HIM THAT MY POODLE WAS LOOSING A LOT OF WEIGHT VERY QUICKLY AND WAS NOT DRINKING WELL BY NOW AND TOLD HIM I WAS WORRIED BECAUSE THE GIRL AT PETCO SAID HE NEEDED TO DRINK A LOT. I FELT THAT HE WAS DEHYDRATING AND NEEDED HELP QUICKLY. HE WAS GETTING THINNER BY THE HOUR AND FALLING ON HIS SIDE WHEN HE STOOD UP. I ALSO NOTICED DIFFICULTY WITH BREATHING AND HIS PILLOW WAS SOAKING WET THE PAST TWO MORNINGS. I ALSO NOTICED THAT HE HAD A VERY STRONG PULSE IN HIS FRONT LEGS THAT YOU COULD SEE FROM ACROSS THE ROOM. I RUSHED HIM TO THE VET TELLING HIM THAT I THINK THIS MEDICINE MAY HAVE DEHYDRATED HIM BECAUSE HE STOPPED DRINKING THE DAY BEFORE. CODY HAD TESTS DONE AND WAS PUT ON MEDS AND AN IV TO HELP WITH HIS FLUIDS. HE WAS HAVING LIVER AND KIDNEY FAILURE AND THE VET GAVE HIM A FIFTY FIFTY CHANCE OF SURVIVING. OF COARSE I SAID DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET HIM BETTER. I ALSO FORGOT TO INCLUDE THAT MY POODLES WEIGHT WENT FROM 7LB 2OZ TO 5LB 8OZ IN FOUR DAYS. AFTER 1 WEEK IN THE HOSPITAL, HIS KIDNEY LEVEL WENT BACK TO NORMAL ACCORDING TO THE BLOOD TEST. I WAS ABLE TO TAKE CODY HOME AND FOLLOW THE VETS DIRECTIONS TO FORCE FEED HIM,GIVE WATER THRU A DROPPER,AND GIVE MEDS AS DIRECTED. HE TOLD ME THAT HE WAS STILL VERY SICK AND STILL NOT OUT OF DANGER. AFTER ALL MY LOVE AND CARE OVER THE NENT TWO DAYS, I HAD TO RETURN MY POODLE TO THE VET. I WAS SO SCARED FOR HIM, HE WAS ALWAYS SO HEALTHY. 5 MINUTES AFTER ARRIVING AT THE VETS, MY CODY TOOK A SEIZURE ON THE TABLE. MY 9 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER STARTED TO SCREAM AND THE DOCTOR RUSHED CODY TO THE BACK ROOM. TEN MINUTES LATER, MY DAUGHTER AND I WERE ABLE TO GO BACK AND SEE HIM. I WAS TOLD THAT HE NOW ONLY WEIGHED 4LBS AND I ASKED IF HE WAS SUFFERING. THE DOCTOR TOLD ME YES AND HE COULD NOT SEE HIM GETTING BETTER. I LOOKED AT MY LITTLE DAUGHTER AND TOLD HER THAT WE HAD TO MAKE A DECISION. I TOLD HER THAT WE DID OUR BEST AND THE DOCTOR TRIED TO MAKE HIM BETTER. WE BOTH KNEW THAT OUR VERY ENERGETIC POODLE COULD NOT LIVE LIKE THIS. MY DAUGHTER LEFT THE ROOM CRYING AND A STAYED WITH CODY FOR THE NEXT 15 MINUTES. AS HE LAID ON THE TABLE WITH AN IV AND OXYGEN MASK ON HIM, HE LOOKED SO SAD. I TOLD HIM I WAS SO SORRY FOR PUTTING THAT MEDICINE ON HIM AND IF I HAD KNOWN, I NEVER WOULD HAVE. I TOLD HIM HOW MUCH I LOVED HIM AND I HUGGED HIM AS HE LOOKED AT ME WITH HIS EYES. I TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO LEAVE THE ROOM AND LET THEM COME IN AND PUT HIM TO SLEEP. I FINALLY LEFT THE ROOM AND A FEW MINUTES LATER I WAS GIVEN A SMALL BOX WITH MY POODLE AND HIS BLANKET. MY DAUGHTER A I HAD TO KEEP LOOKING AT HIM AND TELLING HIM WE WERE SORRY. WE BURIED HIM THE NEXT MORNING. THAT WAS 6 DAYS AGO AND I STILL FEEL LIKE I DECIDED WHEN MY DOG WAS TO DIE. I FEEL SO GUILTY AND I FEEL AS IF I KILLED HIM. I KNOW IN TIME I WILL REALIZE THAT I DID THE RIGHT THING. WHEN GIVEN A FIFTY FIFTY CHANCE, I TOOK IT. MY VET BILL WAS 1300.00, BUT AT LEAST WE KNOW WE DID OUR BEST. AS FAR AS THIS ZODIAC FLEATROL, I SAY THAT IF YOU WANT TO LIVE WITH THE GRIEF AND GUILT OF BEING THE ONE THAT APPLIES IT TO YOUR ANIMAL, IT'S NOT EASY. I WISH THAT I WENT TO YOUR WEB SITE FIRST. I WOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT PERMETHRIN WAS A DANGEROUS INGREDIENT, 45 PERCENT. IN MEMORY OF CODY 02/18/91 11/13/03 REST IN PEACE.
JOAN 11/19/03
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Thank you for your site. It was very helpful to review the experiences of other pet owners. We have two healthy black labs and seasonally used Bio Spot to help combat fleas and ticks. Just recently we've been able to associate the use of Bio Spot with several problems in our dogs. One of our labs vomited hours after we administered the Bio Spot. Our other lab suffered several seizures 24 hours after we administered Bio Spot. We called our vet and it was recommended that we bathe them immediately. So far, this has alleviated the problem. However, I decided to research this product online (by which I found your site) and am very disturbed to learn that numerous other pet owners have experienced similar if not more severe problems with this product. Additionally, it's quite troubling to discover that in many cases Farnum Pet Products has reimbursed familes for vet bills accrued as a result of the use of Bio Spot. In my mind, it is evident to the manufacturer that this product is dangerous to pets.
Please let me know if there are other steps that we can take to get this product off the market or at the very least, ensure that the warning labels offer information about the serious effects this product may have on pets. I did send an email to the National Pesticide Information Center.
Stephanie 12/1/03
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A week ago, I purchased Bio Spot for Cats and Ferrets from Critter Hut in Narragansett, RI. I carefully read the instructions and applied the product to my cat. Within a half-hour, my cat had a nasty chemical burn where I had applied the Bio Spot to the back of her neck. With the help of my roommate, I washed the chemical from the cat and took her to the vet the following evening. I was rather surprised when the vet said I was lucky she was still alive. He gave her a shot to detoxify the permethian. Earlier that morning, I had returned the product to the owner of Critter Hut. He refunded the money but refused to pay for the associated vet bill or remove the product from his shelves.
Please get this product off the market. Dangerous pesticides should not be allowed on the market when there are clearly safer alternatives.
Heather 12/31/03
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I accidentally put a very small amount of dog Biospot on our wonderful, pregnant cat - Snickerdoodle. Within a very short time we found her hiding under a coffee table...having grand mal seizures. She was shaking severely and had lost all bowel and bladder control. We immediately tried to wash all the Biospot off of her, but that did not help either.
The next two hours were a nightmare. She was in a continuous state of seizures. I just held her and tried everything to calm the seizures. She was bleeding severely from the mouth as the seizures continued non-stop. From time to time she would cry out as if in pain. Only later did I see that the box said - in small print - not to use on cats. It did not say that seizures and death was a possibility.
We called the vet and realized shortly that there was nothing they could do either, so we took her out to a friend's country home and 'put her down' to end her horrible nightmare. She was only 4 years old and was due to have a beautiful calico litter in about two weeks.
I am sick about it. I feel so guilty. I do not know how I am going to tell my 19 year old daughter who is away at school that her beloved little one died today from a violent death due to Biospot.
Caroline 1/18/04
American Red Cross Pet First Aid Instructor !!
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Thank you for posting your report on Spot on the internet. Yesterday (2/7/04) we had a similar incident with our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Charlie. She work up at 5:45 a.m. vomiting and thrashing. We rushed her to an emergency vet hospital and they treated her with valium and diazapan. The vet did not know of any adverse reactions to Bayer's K-9 Advantix. We called the Bayer medical hotline and discovered that her symptoms were identical to a toxic reaction to this product. We were fortunate that she was in our bed when the incident occurred and that we were able to get her immediate medical attention. We brought her home after a 9 hour stay at the hospital. She is now on Valium for 72 hours and under a constant watch. So far, all is well. I hope that Hamish is doing fine and that there are no residual effects. I reported this to the EPA and our vet.
Donna 2/8/04
Bayer agreed to reimburse (almost $500.00). I gave her the K-9 Advantix the a.m. before the reaction, about 20 hours before she had the seizure. The vet bathed her in Dawn, or some degreasing shampoo. She seems fine.
Donna 2/10/04
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I saw your website today about your dog and the problems you had with BioSpot. You requested that we contact you if we also have problems. As you did, we have been using Frontline and decided to try Bio Spot since it was less expensive. However, within minutes of applying the medicine, my pet had a reaction. It has now been two days since application and my pet is still having difficulties. I have contacted the EPA and Bio Spot. Thank you for posting your information and letting the world know what a horrible pesticide this product really is and should never be used on our animals.
Pam 2/9/04
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Thanks so much for the information you placed on the website. I have two cocker spaniels I bought the summer of 2002. I bought the female first, and when she was old enough, treated her with Advantage. I have a repusion for ticks and was determined she would not bring them in my house. About two weeks later, she started having seizures. We took her to the emergency vet and $2,000 later found nothing wrong. They diagnosed epilepsy, which is common for cockers, but not that young. She continued to have seizures for a couple of months as we treated her with pheno barbitol, which made me unhappy. I took her off the medicine after six months because she seemed to be seizure free. Meanwhile, we purchased her brother and decided not to use the Advantage anymore. We diligently picked ticks off, which grossed me out. The next warm season I decided to try Advantix, which deters mosquitoes also, a huge problem in our area. It worked very well and no seizures until this past December. She only had one, not violent, but still scary. This winter I haven't been using anything and am facing spring and a dilemma. I guess you haven't found any solutions either. Someone said wash your dog in tea oil and put herbs in their bed area. (Their bed area is my bed area. I don't want to smell like an Italian dish.) I just wanted to share this info with you for what it's worth. Thanks again for yours.
Jonnie 2/23/04
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As with many of the cases I have read my family was using Frontline on all three of our cats and both dogs, when one day shopping we noticed a product called BioSpot. We decided to try it. My animals have never had a reaction to any product in the past! At 5 o'clock on Monday, March 8 we applied BioSpot flea treatment to all three of my cats. Everything seemed fine throughout the night, we went to bed around the normal time, and to our horror we woke the next morning to all three cats in seizors! Before I could get to the phone to call my vet one of my cats turned blue, stopped breathing and passed away!! Thank God we were able to save the other two from death, but now they are not mentally the same!! I am disgusted with the product and the fact that there is nothing being done to stop it from being sold! How do you expect to make a profit when it kills the animals it is put on? I am begging you to do something about this before others are forced to endure the loss my family has!!!!!!!!!!
Cara 3/12/04
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My 3 yr. old gray tiger Toby (one of her names) is twitching but asleep on my boyfriend's lap b/c I found her early this a.m. at 6 to walk our Husky. When I came back, I found my little one in full fledged seizures. We had used Advantix on our other cat and our dog, but not on Pointy (Toby.)
We flew out the door as her 7 lb. body spasmed and twitched. No Vets were open, as it was between 'Emergency Room' shifts and regular office hours, so we drove for an hour and a half looking for someplace, any place to take her. (That in itself was a trip, b/c there is a Cat Hospital or Veterinarian Office in every other shopping center down here. but none open.)
Finally, Office hours were starting and we got her in in time for the Vet to flush her on a catheter and give her Valium for the seizures - from what the Vet said was poisoning from the deadly flea killer pet killer. We are keeping a vigil with her and her muscle relaxants tonight. They were going to keep her overnight in the $$E.R.$$, but the Vet agreed she was good to go home if we wached her and brought her to the E.R. nearby our home if anything different from the neuro symptoms she explained manifested. We are so lucky to have escaped this tragedy.
It's unacceptable that peoples' hearts are being broken every day due to the negligence in packaging and the dangerous toxins in the products' formulas. How can I help to protest this? (Not
to mention the Internet sellers who give advice on application of these when they have no idea what they are talking about.)
Does anyone know how to get restitution for bills incurred in this nightmare? Also, I fear the seizures may cause brain damage. Any anecdotal evidence of this? Please pray w/me that 'Pointy' (Toby) makes it.
Melissa 3/12/04
P.S. The fleas are still alive on our Husky.
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I have 4 dogs (my only children), 2 shih Tzu's, a Pomeranian and a poodle. On Wednesday, March 17, 2004 I put Zodiac Spot Treatment on all 4 dogs to prevent them from getting Fleas and Ticks in a friends very large yard. On Thursday March 18, 2004, my poodle began acting weird by not wanting to walk and only staying on the sofa. Thinking the only thing that I have changed with the dogs was the Flea medication, I washed her and got her to the Vet ASAP. I had $450.00 worth of tests done and everything was negative.
Today, Friday March 19 one of my Shih Tzu's is acting the same way. After locating this website, I rushed home from work and washed all 4 dogs with dish detergent and again contacted the vet. According to the Vet, this treatment can cause bad reactions in pets. I was told to wash them, which I did, and watch for vomiting, seizures and diarrhea. Hopefully, they will be okay in a few days but I am extremely nervous and stressed about this. I was trying to prevent a problem before it happened and I may have killed my babies. THIS PRODUCT MUST BE TAKEN OFF THE MARKET.
Karen 3/19/04
Just to follow up on my 3/19/04 post with my two dogs having bad reactions to Zodiac. After reading this website and bathing all 4 dogs in dish soap they became much better day by day - I washed them all twice with dish soap. I pursued the company that sells this poison and after an interview and records sent to the company they have reimbursed me for my vet bill.
Thanks for all of your help - somehow we need publicize the dangers BEFORE people use these products on their pets.
Karen 4/8/04
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I have a 5 year old female Shepard Chow mix, Karo, who I applied Bio-Spot to last Thursday night. By Saturday, she started showing strange symtoms. By Saturday night, she was erratic, hiding, moving about and uncomfortable. She could not move or lift her tail, and her hind legs didn't move right. She stopped drinking and became dehydrated. She lost control of urination and her rectum was dilolated. We took her to an animal hospital on Sunday morning, where they administered an IV and muscle relaxers. She came home late that night. Her spirits were good but she still had no bladder control. She was constipated until Tuesday, but then lost control of bowel movements too. She was hospitalized overnight again last night when she didn't seem to improve any. We are at $1100 in vet bills with no end in sight and this is money that just doesn't even exist. She is on antibiotics, anti-inflamitories, and anti-diarhea medications, as well as special food and water. I would pray to be in contact with the woman who signed her letter "banchee's mom 8/10/03" since her problem was similar, she is local and the specialists she saw may be able to save Karo.
Tom 3/27/04
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Thank you for the wonderful and informative website you posted. I have a 1 1/2 year old Vizsla and a 2 year old Lab/SharPei mix that I just rescued from a shelter. I have been using the BioSpot on my Vizsla since I brought him home last year. I can't really say I had a problem with him. I brought home the Lab mix a month and a half ago (which was being treated for heartworm) and about a week after I brought him home, applied the BioSpot. His joints became very painful and he had fever. It got so bad that if you tried to run your hand down his body to comfort him he would cry in pain. I took him to the Vet and they could not find anything. Four x-rays, tons of blood work and all kinds of test showed nothing wrong. His white blood cell count, however, was very high indicating a bad infection. They kept him in the hospital and treated him intravenously with Baytril (antibiotic). He is much better. Unfortunately, we are no closer to knowing what was wrong. I was getting ready to order my supply of BioSpot when I decided to check the Internet for any articles comparing it to Frontline Plus. I stumbled on your site and boy am I glad I did. Over a thousand dollars in Vet care later, I don't want to take any chances. I don't know if it was the BioSpot, but I'm not going to take any chances. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Betsy 3/30/04
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We used Advantix last year for 6 months with no success for fleas. There was West Nile in this county in SC and we thought to protect our 1 year old Scotty from the mosquitos. Not sure how much good it did for them but it surely did not work at all on the fleas. Our vet is not using/recommending/selling that product this year at all. What do you know about Revolution for heart worm, flea, tick and mosquito control?
Mrs. Ferguson 3/31/04
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I have just sent this email to the EPA.
Bio Spot - take this medication off the market. I used it on my 8 lb. Australian terrier and have been in and out of the vet's office all day. About 5 hrs. after using, he began vomiting and walking in a haunched position. The vet said he is reacting to the Bio Spot.
A urine sample indicted an elevation of Billirubin. Blood will be drawn tomorrow and sent to a lab to determine if there has been permanent damage to the liver.
My vet said she has seen numerous serious problems where Bio Spot has been applied to dogs and cats. One dog died as a result. She has reported these problems to the company and yet, it continues to be sold. She also said she is seeing similar problems with Zodiac.
Gay 3/31/04
The ALT test was abnormal but the ALK was normal. Another test will be run on Monday to see if the abnormality still exist. The vet said it could be that the liver is working overtime to rid the body of the toxins.
I printed all the letters on your website to pass on to my sister's vet. She has a mini-doberman who became ill shortly after being given Bio Spot. She called the vet and asked if this could be the problem? He assured her it was not. He sells Bio Spot in
his clinic.
I think most cases go unreported because the owner doesn't connect the Bio Spot to the dog's illness and never tells the vet that he applied the Bio Spot. We are so stupid at times. We believe that if a product is approved that it is safe. This isn't true in human medicines or animal medicines.
I will keep you updated. Thank you for your website. I hope thousands read the comments before purchasing these products.
Gay 4/2/04
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Our beloved dog was recently hit by a car and my 8 year old daughter wanted to adopt another dog from the local animal shelter, which we did. Gidget was a 20 lb. terrier mix that was 4 months old. My daughter picked her out of 400 homeless dogs in our area off he Internet. When we got her home she was loaded with fleas and ticks. I bathed her in Hartz Flea and Tick control shampoo and applied Seargents drops. By 5 am the following morning she had a severe seizure and was foaming at the mouth. We rushed her to a 24 hr vet who washed her and told me she did not think it was from the shampoo/drops but from distemper. She was put on antibiotics and sent home as she seemed to perk up after the bath. I was told if she got worse to assume it was distemper. She seemed fine
most of the day, good appetite and all. However that evening the seizures started again, getting closer and closer together. She then started acting very agitated and throwing herself against walls and furniture and foaming at the mouth. After she setteled down her hind legs continued to tremble. I started to worry that it could be rabies, and my daughter was hysterical seeing her that way. I finally called animal control who came and felt she needed to be put down, which I did. I initially suspected poisioning and feel horrible that maybe it wasn't distemper after all. After reading these accounts maybe I acted to hastily. I would never have used any of these products had I known. My daughter is so afraid to love another animal after losing two in one week....
Wendi 4/2/04
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Well I found your site four days too late. I put Bio-spot on my 7 year old Kieshound Sadie, and the next day she was jumpy, in pain and had trouble moving. Muscle spasms. We have been treating her with a bath everyday, soft food, Pedialite and Aleve for the pain. Still we have yet to see any improvement. My vet is going to see her on Monday but I think the neurological damage is permanent. I'm so angry and riddled with guilt. My hubby lost his job so we were trying to save money. We normally use Frontline but we were just broke. It was sooooo NOT worth it! I wish I would have looked this up first.
Carmen 4/3/04
Thank you for your kindness and help, but Sadie had a seizure early this morning and passed away. I've E-mailed everyone, Farnam as well, but Sadie never made it to the vet (only spoke to emergency vet on Saturady) so I doubt they will do anything. I just hope more people learn of this danger before it's to late. And I plan on telling everyone I know! Thank you again.
Carmen 4/5/04
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Our Lab/Aussie Shepherd used biospot last season with no ill effects. Last night we started the new season with a single dose and she wanted to rub it off immediately. This morning she was listless, would not eat,and was trembling. She is two weeks post-op from TPLO and has been recovering beautifully. Last night she was full of energy; this morning she will not move and is unresponsive.
The vet said to wash off what we could of the biospot, which we did. She is not salvating or having seizures so he said no antidote can be safely administered. After the bath she ate some buttered toast after that (we usually do not feed her people food). Can you please tell me whether we can expect her to continue to worsen over the next few days or hopefully get better? Is there more we
can do?
Needless to say, we will never use BioSpot again. Your web site has certainly been useful, especially since we have a cat too.
Jane 4/5/04
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I wanted to thank-you for having this notification out there for concerned pet owners to read. Our English Bulldog, Spud, uncharacteristically enjoys romping through the woods and ends up covered in ticks. He turns one year old today. And coming into the Spring, we want to get him the best protection possible.
My husband and I were weighing our options between Frontline (which I had gotten rave reviews from other dog owners) and Bio-Spot which we saw in a pet catalogue. After reading these articles and emails from other owners, I now completely understand why Bio-Spot is so much cheaper. It astounds me that a product like this is on the market, and also recommended by the catalogue Dr. Fosters & Smith. Needless to say I called my vet for an opinion, who upon my mention of Bio-Spot, said, "No, definitely not." Bulldogs can have many health problems, and thanks to this site, I am able to avoid another potential one. My heart goes out to those who have had tragic and near tragic experiences with this shameful product.
Bethany 4/5/04
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I just stumbled across the website about the damage Biospot has done to many dogs. We just applied biospot to our miniature schnauzer with horrible reactions. He seemed to be going crazy, running from room to room, digging on our hard wood floors, very, very distressed. We feel so bad that we even put it on him, but we pulled 10 ticks off him the other day and felt we were helping him. Little did we know we had poisoned him. We have bathed him twice and he seems to be doing better, do you think we should take him to the Vet? Is there anything they can do? Thank you for the information you posted.
Anonymous 4/5/04
To update you, No my dog is not getting better, he is getting worse. Paced, ran from room to room, very very agitated. He is on his way to the Vet to be observed for the day. It's awful. It has been four days. We are going crazy dealing with all of this.
Anonymous 4/8/04
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I just found this site today. I too purchased the Bio Spot for Cats. I applied it to our older cat Sunday night. She freaked out a bit but then calmed down. Monday night we applied it to our 7 month old kitten. She was acting very strange rolling around the floor etc. I gave her a bath like the directions said. We went to bed and my daughter woke us up. Dolly was having seizures and died! I called my vet who wanted me to report this and I called Bio Spot who asked me to return all of the product I used on the animals and they would reimburse me. How can that help the guilt I feel by putting this on my pet!
Patty 4/7/04
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I wish I had found your site two days earlier. After a successful first use of bio-spot on my Chihuahua (1/3 a tube for the 15lb and under dogs), all went well and there didn't seem to be any distress.
Well, this summer I decided to try it again and the tube spilled out more than intended and even after washing the excess off my dog is pacing, licking the floor (unusual for her), drinking excessive amounts of water (but urinating still), and has a general malaise about her. She can sit still on my lap, however, on her own she can't keep still.
I wanted to let you know that everyone who has posted here should post their comments on ripoffreport.com.
If the reports are filed separately but as a group, we might be able to get this poison with a nifty name off the darn market. I am so angry right now, I can't tell you. The packaging is very misleading as to side effects and the packages themselves are easy to accidentally over dose an animal because the weight distribution is crucial to the level of side effects.
I don't give my dog a rabies shot because of this very problem with weight distribution. The original breeder never gave her one either because these vaccines are made in one size fits all capacities. A 3 lb Chihuahua and a 150 pound Mastiff get the same sized dose.
Anyway, I'm putting this pup in the bath right now even after washing it off with a towel....
Put info on your site about ripoffreport.com. You won't regret it. Many companies have been forced to deal with the negative publicity on that site. They can only answer the claims and will never be able to erase them.
Stacy 4/11/04
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I found your website while doing a search for adverse reactions to frontline. I am sorry for what you have gone through with Hamish, and am so happy he has recovered.
I am curious though, you wrote that you settled with Farnham. Didn't they put a gag order on you?
The reason I ask is that my sweet angel augie had an adverse reaction from a ProHeart 6 injection last spring and though we fought hard, he died of thrombocytopenia on my birthday in august, he missed his 5th birthday by 3 wks. In order to do everything possible to save him I agreed to take a settlement from ft dodge but in return I had to sign a contract that was in essence a gag order.
My heart is broken and I don't think I will ever be the same. We have a little yahoo listserv to support each other and provide info on this dangerous killing drug that fort dodge has been watching. They have given the list and site owner a lot of grief and to that end she had to redesign and rename the website and name of the list. This company is serious, but so are we, as many of us have lost something dear to our hearts. The link to the website is below if you are interested, and here is
one more u might like to look at.
Please help spread the word, Proheart 6 by Fort Dodge/Weyth is a killer. Those sneaky SOB's have started airing radio spots giving only an 800 number or the advice to ask you vet about the 6 month heartworm preventative not naming it. WHY? Because of all the bad press out there. Many big city news shows have started airing segments (there are links on the site) about the controversy of this drug.
Meri 4/11/04
Wee Ree
Luke CGC,AKC/ASCA CD,FD,FDX,FDCH
Augie CGC,FD,FDX,FDCH,FM,FMX,FMCH
We miss you Augie, forever in our hearts
If tears could build a stairway, and memories a lane, I'd walk right up
to heaven and bring you home again
My settlement with Farnam was not negotiated, and did not include a silencing provision. They simply sent me a check to reimburse my veterinarian expenses and included on the back of it, "FULL AND FINAL SETTLEMENT FOR THE ALLEGED ADVERSE REACTION TO BIO SPOT." By accepting it, I forfeited my rights to sue. At first, I told Farnam that I would not accept it because
I wanted them to either pull the product from the market or at least disclose the possibility of severe adverse reactions on their packaging. However, when it became apparent that they were not going to do either, I decided to accept their settlement and create my Bio Spot website.
I commend you for alerting people to the risks of using ProHeart 6. It's a shame that such products are allowed to be sold BEFORE they are proven safe, and the only way to get them removed from the market is to prove they are unsafe. If the FDA and EPA will not protect the public from these products, then we as individuals have to find ways to inform one another of these dangers and protect ourselves. If that is not covered by free speech, then there is something fundamentally
wrong with the law.
James TerBush
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I have an 11 month old Shih Tsu named Isabella (Bella for short). We finished a basic training class at PetSmart a few weeks ago and the trainer there highly recommended Bio-spot. After taking classes over 8 weeks with the trainer, I trusted her advice. I put the Bio-spot on my puppy Sunday
morning. Within an hour, she was trying to hide and tucking her back legs up under her as if they burned. I knew that it had to be the Bio-spot so we gave her a bath immediately trying to wash off the stuff. She continued to try to hide and could only be comforted by one of us holding her. She was unable to sleep at all Sunday night and started panting. I took her to the vet on Monday. The
vet did an exam but couldn't really find anything other than full anal glands. He said that the bath was the right thing to do after her reaction to the Bio-spot but he thought it was the anal glands causing her hind area to be so sensitive. He gave me some cream for her hind end and sent me home. I had a friend stay with the dog while I went to my office for a few hours. When I came home, she was panting more and still sort of scooting around, pulling her back legs up. She either wanted to be
held or tried to hide in corners or under furniture. I put her right in the car and drove back to the vet's office. The doctor (a different one from the morning visit) gave me an antihistimine with a steroid
in it to help give her some relief with what they felt was severe itching from the Bio-spot. We spent another pretty much sleepless night last night but she still seems to be suffering with the same symptoms. This morning I noticed that she is losing her hair around her tail and hind quarters. This is really upsetting as I have kept her hair long and groom her almost daily. She is drinking water and eating which is a good sign. I just don't know what to do for her to make her feel better and after reading all these other stories, I am really worried about permanent damage.
I do want to make a formal complaint to the company putting these poisens on the market and to PetSmart for pushing the sale of them in their training classes.
I hope my puppy survives my error in using this unsafe product.
Lizanne 4/13/04
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(This message was just sent to the National Pesticide Information Center)
Please remove this product from the market immediately. How many more pets need to suffer?
I am speaking of Hartz Control One Spot. I "treated" my Shi-Poo with this yesterday as a method of flea prevention. After a few hours, she began to whine and try to scratch the application area. I bathed her to remove as much of the product as possible. However, it is now in her blood stream
and may very well have caused neurological damage. She shakes uncontrollably, is extremely lethargic (very out of character for her) and has difficulty manouvering her hindquarters. She is only
3 years old. We spent a long scary night with her last night as she struggled to breathe thoughout
the night. I am bringing her into the vet shortly and hope I removed enough of the product in time.
I looked up this and other similar products on the internet and am astonished to see how common the poisoning of animals is. What will it take for this dangerous product to be removed from the shelves? Permethrin should be banned. The package also does not provide adequate warning
nor does it include any literature in how to treat adverse reactions!
Please act on this before other animals suffer needlessly!!!
I would appreciate hearing back from you as to what will happen as a result of this type of complaint filed.
Thank You
Sandra 4/16/04
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In the interest of saving money I decided to try BioSpot especially after reading that Dr. Foster & Smith recommended it. I had previously used Advantix for two months on my 2-year-old shelter-rescued 46 lb. American Eskimo and had seen no side effects. I read everything on the package and the side effects didn't sound that menacing. Maybe some irritation on the skin. Boy, is that an understatement. Immediately after I put on the BioSpot, she began acting crazy and running around trying to hide under the bed, closet, etc. There was no doubt in my mind what caused this so I grabbed her and put her in the tub to rinse the stuff off. This is usually a two-person process, but my husband was cutting the grass outside and I didn't want to wait another minute so I tried to do it myself. Well, she struggled mightily and slipped a couple times. Since it was such a traumatic experience I thought she was just being aloof afterwards. We only have had her for six months. But when she just laid in one spot and didn't respond to food, I knew something was wrong. It might have been a coincidence, but after I gave her a charcoal tablet, she definitely improved. Charcoal is supposed to absorb toxins.
I went to the Internet and found your Web site. It was heartbreaking to read all those postings. So far
I think I was one of the lucky ones. It has been about 20 hours later now and she has perked up, but still hunches over when she walks, holds her tail to the side, cries sometimes and clearly has a
problem with her back legs. I am sick with worry that this won't go away and the worst part of it is knowing I did this to her.
I will never use any of those topical insecticides again. It used to be when a dog had fleas, you would give them a flea dip, treat the house and be done with it. I am suspicious of this topical poison used every month as a new way for vets to make money.
Thanks for "listening."
Renee 4/18/04
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I was glad to find your site. I thought our experience was unusual, now it is a problem with the product. We learned about Biospot from our puppy training instructor at Petsmart. Because it was less expensive than other products we decided to give it a try on our two Bijon Frise 6 month old puppies. We applied the first treatment at 10 pm and after waiting a while to see that they were OK, went to bed. At 3 AM we awoke to the puppies whining which was very unusual, so I went to let them
out. They ran outside and started rolling and scratching in agony. Their backs were already very red. I gave them a bath to wash off the Biospot, but they were still going crazy with itching. One puppy was even bleeding at the application site. The next morning we gave the puppies another bath, but they were still itching and scratching. They ended up with large scabs on their backs which took a long time to heal. We are thankful the reaction was not more severe as some of your readers
described, but we have still learned a lesson. Our vet recommends Advantage. Does anyone
know if dogs that have reactions to Biospot also have problems with Advantage?
Vivianna 4/19/04
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We have four German Shepard/ Husky mixes, Mom (Jo-Jo) Dad (RO) and two 1 yr. old pups Houdini and Huck.A week ago last Monday (4/12/04) the parent dogs were treated with front-line and the two pups with Bio-Spot...Big Mistake! with in two days Jo-Jo and Houdie were sick, not eating nor drinking, and acting out of character, they also began running very high temps above 105*.
My wife took them to the local vet where they were treated with antibiotics, on Thursday and again on Friday. Their condition worsened and by Saturday both dogs were having trouble walking, acting drunk! Houdie developed a twitch on one eyebrow. We took them to a larger animal hospital that evening, up to that point we were clues-less to what might be wrong with our kids. Talking with the Vet. on call that night Bio-spot came up and his knee jerk reaction was very telling. But Jo-Jo had been treated with Front-line,only the Pups had the Bio-Spot! Then My wife remembered that the other pup Huck had been wet behind the neck the day we had put the stuff on them, we now suspect the other two dogs had ingested the poison during their frequent hearty play sessions, only Jo-Jo and the pups play like this, the old man "RO" is 12 yrs. old and is content to watch these activities.
They came home today with Jo-Jo showing marked improvement, more active and eating again, not so for Houdini, very lethargic, will not eat, has drank some water tonight. but still has trouble walking. I got on the Internet and shortly got with my wife to give Houdie a bath with dish soap, we surmised that Jo-Jo only ingested some of it from Huck, as did Houdie, but Houdini had also been treated with Bio-Death.......We go to sleep tonight praying that we haven't done permanent damage to our baby.
Sheldon 4/21/04
I thought I'd send an update on JoJo and Houdini, JoJo has made marked improvements everyday she's been home, and other than her loss of weight and still low energy level, she is doing very well.
Houdini ate yesterday for the first time in over a week, (7 of his favorite Dog Cookies) he was 100+lbs before this began and weighed 81lbs. when we brought him home from their stay at the Vet's 3 days ago. He ate another half-dozen Milk Bones today and is keeping them down. He is still having balance problems walking, and is very weak, but a little life reappeared in his eyes today, prior to this it was just a blank empty stare. We are cautiously optimistic that he has turned the corner, and is beginning to recover.
We are about $800.00 bucks into this right now, with an appointment Saturday morning for a follow up at the Vet hospital. I just thank goodness there are some good ones out there, and we found one in time, I believe without this very concerned Vet. who took us seriously Houdie wouldn't have made it. We will be seeking reimbursement for the cost of all this from the Company. I will also follow up on your other suggestions.
Thanks again for putting this information out there, people need to know! I will find a different way to deal with the fleas and ticks, a full 50% of our dogs can not TOLERATE this poison.
Sheldon 4/23/04
I thought I'd send an update on our experience with our dogs and Bio-Spot. It's been about a month now, and I'm glad to report that "JoJo" the 2yr. old female German Shepard, appears to have made a full recovery. Her weight is back and everything seems normal with her.
Our 1yr. old baby Houdini, has made what I consider a remarkable recovery from what that poison we put on him did to him. He too has gained allot of his weight back, and for the most part he's pretty much back to the loving-onery-100 lb.puppy he was before.
Yet, I believe this dog has suffered what I fear is some permanent damage from his bout with Bio-Hell. His head tilts to (his) left all the time. You know how allot of the time, you'll say something to your dog, and they'll kinda tilt their head like they're paying attention to you, well his head is that way all the time now, if he happens to tilt his head to the right while he's trying to pay attention, it's straight up in a "normal" position. We've been hoping one of these mornings we'll wake up and our Houdini will be leveled out. My wife says his world got slightly twisted.
Farnam, after much difficulty has "Very Recently" verbally agreed to pay our $800.00 Vet bill, luckily both the Vets. that took care of our dogs were willing to write supporting letters of our claims. I have yet to receive reimbursement from them.
Thanks again for providing this site, I truly believe finding it, when i did, helped our babies get through this scary and very unnecessary ( if they'd take this crap off the shelf ) poisoning.
Sheldon 5/24/04
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I also was using Biospot on my miniature pincher, Baxter, who just turned 3. We used it on him all last summer with no problems so we decided to use it again this year. I put it on him for the first time this year in the beginning of April. Almost instantly, he started to act funny. He just laid around, not playing, it took all his energy away. We just figured it was because of the strong citrus smell. Then today when I put it on him he started to act the same way. I decided to look it up online and found this site. Within an hour of putting it on him I had my husband give him a bath. Thankfully he has his spunk back and is acting fine. We were lucky that it didn¹t have the hazardous affect as did some of the others. We only used Biospot to save a few dollars, but it is not worth it. If you love your animal you will stop using it now.
Susan 5/5/04
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My cat Jax is currently at the vet hospital after his owners used Bio Spot on him. Jax became overly excited, was jumping all over the place, he started foaming at the mouth and he started having jerky movements. My name is Kristine and Jax has been a part of our family since he was a little fluffy kitten, now he is struggling for his life after becoming poisoned by this stuff. We had used it once before on him and he showed no reaction so last night before we went to bed we used it on him for a 2nd time. Right after we put it down his back I noticed his behavior start to change. He started to dart all over the house, jumping up on the furniture, wanting to go outside then come back inside, he just wasn't acting himself. After I had gone to bed Jax kept jumping up into bed with me and he'd lay quietly next to me for a little while before he began to bite at himself, he kept this up for about 30 minutes until I could take no more. I finally had my husband give him a bath, he washed him down with warm water and scrubbed him good. It was too late, the poison had already gotten into Jax's system and this was only hours later.
The next morning after I had left for work @ 3:30am, my husband noticed jax wasn't around anywhere, and he is always around for his morning belly rub but this morning he wasn't, so he went looking for him and found him laying lifeless out in the front yard, where he probably laid for hours before he was found. He called out his name but Jax didn't even look up, he couldn't move! He was shaking and trembling and foaming at the mouth, my poor kitty, I cant believe he had to go through something like that just because greedy b*stards want to make money!! My husband rushed him to the vet where he was given an antidote and IV fluids, he is still there tonight, the vet said he is stable and should be okay, it just has to work its way through his system but he knew immediately what was wrong with Jax, and he said he wouldn't recommend this product to any one, He said it shouldn't be on the market, that it is a killer for our animals. They wouldn't let something like this for our children to be put out on the shelves if even one child could be harmed from it, would they? Sure they say that some pet owners have found it to be great, and so did I the first time we used it but what about the second time and the third time, and what about the pet owners who this isnt great for? What are we suppose to do, watch our pets suffer and die for the few who can use it? I say NO!!! and so should all of you!!! We need to do something about this before one more pet owner has to go through what me and all of you have already gone through, our voice needs to be heard loud and clear by everyone!!!!
If anyone knows where we can write to or who we can contact or what else we can do to get this
stuff banned from shelves everywhere please let me know, I will be first in line!! Jax is suppose to
be coming home tomorrow but it sure is lonely tonight without him, not hearing his little jingle from
his collar and tags as he plays with his toys, bouncing from room to room, he's all alone right now
in a pet hospital all because of someone else's greed.
Jax's momma, kristine 5/5/04
Thank you for your response! And the valuable information
