Toxins in Our Environment Hurting Pets?

We all love our pets. I know we do! But unlike safety tests conducted on items for human use and consumption (e.g., food, toys), no such tests are conducted for pet products.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG), which is concerned about all things toxic in our environment (heard of BPA?), is now worried about pets.

"In the first study of its kind, Environmental Working Group found that American pets are polluted with even higher levels of many of the same synthetic industrial chemicals that researchers have recently found in people, including newborns."

It goes on to conclude:

"The body burden testing conducted in this investigation is the most expansive ever published for companion animals. The study indicates that cats and dogs are exposed to complex mixtures of industrial chemicals, often at levels far in excess of those found in people. Our pets well may be serving as sentinels for our own health, as they breathe in, ingest or absorb the same chemicals that are in our environments. Exposures that pose risks for pets pose risks for human health as well."

Too vague? How about this. Dogs and cats have high levels of Teflon chemicals (e.g., non-stick coating), toxins found in plastic toys and medicines, and fire retardants, which *may* cause a variety of health risks and diseases. How these toxins affect our pets might predict how they affect humans.

Scary stuff for us and our pets.

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