BPA – now your dog’s in danger!

As headlines go this one’s a doozie… “Dog bites BPA: Chemicals leak from plastic training toys”. Do the staff on Environmental Health News – specifically Lindsey Konkel – have nothing better to do than write stories to terrify dog lovers?

Clearly not.

Mad dog: I blame the house dust...

“Dogs that chew on plastic training devices and toys may be exposed to hormone-altering chemicals, according to research at Texas Tech University,” reports Ms Konkel. “The researchers found that bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates – ingredients of hard plastics and vinyl – readily leach from bumper toys, which are used to train retrieving dogs.”

And do you know how they tested for this? The researchers at Texas Tech University dunked a dog toy in artificial saliva and watched as the hormone-altering BPA leached out.

Artificial saliva? Didn’t anyone have access to a Labrador?

Not mental enough for you yet? You want more bonkers stuff? Step forward Dr Safdar Khan, senior director of toxicology research at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Poison Control Center in Illinois, who was also quoted in the article.

“Dogs are closer to the ground than humans, so house dust is another potential source of exposure to environmental chemicals,” explained Dr Khan. Dogs not as tall as humans shocker! Blimey doc, nothing gets past you…

There’s not a Spot, Rover or Pooch of my acquaintance that doesn’t roll around in muddy puddles and all manner of other sticky, smelly horrors and who won’t eat mouldy scraps from the bin given half a chance.

But that’s nothing compared with house dust and ‘evil’ plastics, so it seems.

So if you own a dog you’d better throw away their toys and break out the vacuum cleaner – anything else equates to neglect and wanton cruelty.

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