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Dangerous Pet Toys
March 17, 2009SAN DIEGO -- Pet toys are cute and cuddly, but how safe are they? Mona Key contacted us after her miniature poodles Morgan and Bentely ripped open a Hartz "Cuddly Cub" toy during playtime.
"It took the dogs about 30 days before they had ripped open the seam, and as they shook the toy in the living room, things started coming out of it," said Key who took pictures of what she found inside the stuffed toy including cut up circuit boards, plastic and springs.
"Some things that would be very dangerous to a dog or a child if they swallowed them," said Key who contacted Hartz. She said the company wasn't interested in her complaint and didn't want to see the photos.
"When I told her I had pictures I'd like to send her, she said no one at Hartz had an e-mail address, which I thought was peculiar," says Key.
We found out when it comes to pet toy safety, no one is watching. There are no safety standards and no agency regulates the toys.
In an e-mail we received, Scott Wolfson of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, said: "We would have jurisdiction if the pet product led to the injury of a consumer. No other federal agency has jurisdiction."
"Unfortunately because there are no regulations, I don't believe companies aren't paying that much attention," said veterinarian Dr. Ginny Bischel.
"That can be a real problem," she said. "A serious problem and pets have been known to swallow small pieces of toys, swallow the filling of toys."
While no agency oversees pet toys, the Food and Drug Administration regulates pet food and pet medicine.
In a statement, Hartz said: "We stand behind the toy and have not received any other complaints regarding its safety."
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