Important warning to pet owners | Golden Skate

Important warning to pet owners

kzarah

Le Patineur et sa Petite Lulu
On the Ice
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
This was forwarded to me:
Thought this one worth passing along, please read, it could help save our pets.
~R

Recently a neighbor who had to have their 5-year old German Shepherd dog put down due to liver failure. The dog was completely healthy until a few weeks ago, so they had a necropsy done to see what the cause was. The liver levels were unbelievable, as if the dog had ingested poison of some kind.

The dog is kept inside, and when he's outside, someone's with him, so the idea of him getting into something unknown was hard to believe. My neighbor started going through all the items in the house. When he got to the Swiffer Wetjet, he noticed, in very tiny print, a warning which stated "may be harmful to small children and animals."

He called the company to ask what the contents of the cleaning agent are and was astounded to find out that antifreeze is one of the ingredients. (actually he was told it's a compound which is one molecule away from anitfreeze).

Therefore, just by the dog walking on the floor cleaned with the solution, then licking it's own paws, and the dog eating from its dishes which were kept on the kitchen floor cleaned with this product, it ingested enough of the solution to destroy its liver..

Soon after his dog's death, his housekeepers' two cats also died of liver failure. They both used the Swiffer Wetjet for quick cleanups on their floors.

Necropsies weren't done on the cats, so they couldn't file a lawsuit, but he asked that we spread the word to as many people as possible so they don't lose their animals.

We just threw ours out.
Daniel and Little Lulu
 

Grgranny

Da' Spellin' Homegirl
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
I had one of those Swiffers and I hated it. Finally took it back. It just makes your floor look really dull and sprays all over your baseboard and walls. P & G doesn't take them back unless there's something wrong with them but I got mine at Walmart and they took it back.
 

RoaringMice

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 1, 2003
Whenever anyone sends you an email like this, please check its truth first at the site mentioned above or www.snopes.com. There are a lot of silly rumours out there circulating by Internet, and it's better to check them first before passing them along, or you end up looking...well...silly, I'm sorry to say.
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This is false, and here's the rebuttal from P&G and from the ASPCA:


From Proctor and Gamble, maker of the Swiffer:

There is a false Internet rumor circulating rapidly among pet owners alleging that Swiffer WetJet may contain antifreeze and is harmful to pets. The Wet cloths and WetJet liquid solution cleaners do not contain antifreeze or any ingredient similar to it. In fact, all Swiffer products are safe to use around pets.

We evaluated the Swiffer Wet cloths and WetJet cleaners to ensure they're safe — a fact confirmed by the ASPCA, independent veterinarians and scientists. In fact, for nearly five years, people in over 38 million U.S. homes have safely used Swiffer products on everything from the kitchen and living room floors to tables and ceiling fans.

We have pets too, and their health and well-being is very important to us. Please help us stop this rumor by sharing the truth with others.


And here from the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center:

Veterinary toxicologists at the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center have reviewed the claim described in a widely distributed email alleging a relationship between the use of Swiffer Wet Jet and liver failure in a dog. The email alleges that exposure to the ingredients in Swiffer Wet Jet caused a dog's death.

The Swiffer Wet Jet system contains water (90-100%), propylene glycol n-propyl ether or propylene glycol n-butyl ether and isopropyl alcohol (1-4%). These ingredients are safe to use around pets when used according to label directions and would not cause liver damage at product concentrations. Propylene glycol n-butyl/propyl ether differs significantly from ethylene glycol, the potentially toxic ingredient present in most antifreeze products. Ethylene glycol is frequently implicated in causing renal failure in dogs following antifreeze ingestion. Propylene glycol n-propyl ether and propylene glycol n-butyl ether are very safe ingredients at levels used in cleaning products and do not cause kidney or liver failure.
 

Ptichka

Forum translator
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
Thank you, RoaringMice. I, too, always check the veracity of this kind of e-mail, and usually do a "reply to all" with this information. I hate how easy it is to create histeria in this day and age. I remember soon after 9/11 there was an e-mail about someone overhearing some secret conversation indicating there will be a terrorist act in Boston. A lot of people stayed home that night due to some *#$#^ sitting at his computer and deciding to play a little joke on the populace.
 

Tonichelle

Idita-Rock-n-Roll
Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 27, 2003
there was also a 9-11 email where someone found a camera and developed the film from someone who died... and it was a photo of someone supposedly on the top of the trade center with a plane right behind him... a very sick and twisted "joke"
 

RealtorGal

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
When I received this information in an email, I admit that I, too, forwarded it to friends. Never thought to check it out, but someone wrote back quickly to let me know it was a fake. Oh, well.
 
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