Jan 31, 2008 10:40 pm US/Central
Are Your Pets In Peril Of Lead Poisoning?
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
You might be surprised to learn that no government agency regulates pet toys for lead. For one suburban pet owner, that was alarm enough to get involved. Nancy Rogers, a dog lover from southwest suburban Orland Park, became worried that her pets were in peril.
"I was talking to my mother who has a dog and we were talking about the recall of children's toys and said gee, I wonder about the dog toys," Rogers said. "And every toy we picked up had a 'made in China' tag on it."
When Rogers learned that no government agency tested pet toys for safety she decided to send 24 toys to a lab for lead testing. All of the toys had at least trace amounts of lead. The most was 335 parts per million for a ball – still well below the current acceptable level for lead in children's toys, which is 600 parts per million
"What does that mean to me? I don't know what that means," Rogers said.
The fact is, no one is certain what level of lead would pose a danger to pets, but veterinarian Shannon Greeley says lead is dangerous if ingested by an animal.
"A lot of vomiting and diarrhea, then we begin to see neurologic signs, tremors, seizures," Greeley said, describing lead poisoning in pets.
Still Greeley says the industry has so far not seen any lead poisoning due to toys. The Chicago Veterinary Medical Association recommends that owners follow simple guidelines when buying pet toys
-- Avoid toys with paint.
-- Avoid plastic toys.
-- Don't let pets chew on children's toys.
Rogers would like to see national guidelines for toxins in pet toys. In the meantime she has switched over to plush toys for her dogs.
"At this point still giving them toys but I'm also very interested now in trying to get somebody to develop standards," Rogers said.
Pet stores CBS 2 checked with said they perform spot checks for lead and other poisons. Manufacturing groups say they regulate themselves through quality control.
The American Veterinary Asssociation reminds pet owners that there is a much greater risk of lead contamination from household items like old lead paint.
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