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Play Things For Pets Are Not Regulated

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By ANDREW ADAM NEWMAN, The New York Times

Published: December 22, 2007

When Lane Nemeth, who founded Discovery Toys in 1978 and sold the company to Avon two decades later, decided to start a pet products company a few years ago, one of the first things she did was to look for regulations about how to manufacture pet toys safely.

She could not find any.

"It was totally shocking," said Nemeth, whose company, Petlane, sells items such as canine tiaras and squirrel-shaped chew toys. "I was stunned because I had come from such a highly regulated industry to one that has no regulations."

After the pet food scare this year, which is thought to have caused the deaths of at least 300 dogs and cats, and a spate of children's toy recalls, which highlighted the problem of lead in products from China, pet owners have been stepping forward to ask: How safe are pet toys?

Indeed. "We get e-mails literally every day from people across the country saying, 'Hey, we note your product is made in China - is it still safe for my dog or cat?'" said Gerry Brostek, chief executive of Penn-Plax Plastics, which manufactures toys under brands like Rruff Stuff and Purr-Pet. A year ago, he said, pet owners rarely inquired about safety.

$40 Billion In Annual Sales

Although the concerns are different when it comes to pets - if a golden retriever loses a few IQ points, will anyone notice? - the inquiries have continued to pour in during the Christmas season, when people are most likely to buy pet toys. According to the American Pet Products Association, 56 percent of dog owners and 42 percent of cat owners buy their pets toys or other treats for Christmas, in an industry with $40 billion in annual sales.

So far, there does not seem to be any cause for serious concern. Some companies, like Petsmart, do test their products for lead, and some individual dog lovers have taken matters into their own hands (call them the helicopter parents of the pet set), but nobody has stepped forward to report egregious problems.

"Is there a risk to pet owners and their children who come into contact with these toys that these dogs have been slobbering on?" said James R. Hood, who runs a Web site, ConsumerAffairs.com, that recently sent dog toys purchased from Wal-Mart to a lab that found trace levels of lead and other toxins. (Wal-Mart responded that the levels the lab found were "barely traceable" and that its own testing found the toys safe.)

"A lot more lead will come off something when it's wet and it has been partially digested in a pet's mouth," Hood said. "There should be standards to protect humans first, and we need to find out what level is safe in this application. Somebody needs to look into this issue."
Pet Toys Never Recalled

Such initiative is unlikely to come from the Consumer Products Safety Commission, whose lack of resources was an issue during the recent toy recalls. In its 34-year history, the commission has never recalled a pet toy because it was deemed hazardous.

"We do not have jurisdiction over pet toys or pet products," said Scott Wolfson, a commission spokesman. "Our jurisdiction would only come into play if we found that a pet toy or pet product was causing physical harm to the owner."

Lead is dangerous to animals as well as people. According to the Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health, many species are susceptible to lead poisoning, but it is most common among birds and dogs. Symptoms of lead poisoning in dogs include "hysterical barking," vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions and blindness.

And many pet owners do worry about their animal's mental faculties. One product sold by Petlane is described this way: "The Hide-A-Squirrel will not only keep dogs occupied and eliminate boredom, but it also develops a dog's intelligence and puzzle-solving skills."

Toys often carry warnings that they should not be left with unsupervised pets and should be discarded at first sign of damage.

Dogs tend to "eat first and think later," said Bernadine Cruz, a veterinarian from Laguna Hills, Calif. "I always tell new pet parents that if you thought it was difficult to childproof your house, it's even more difficult to pet-proof your house, because it's more likely your dog will chew on electrical cords and toxic plants."

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