A BIG Hi to you and your loyal 4 legged friends.

First Thanks to those of you who responded to the survey about your most pressing dog and cat health concerns.

I'm going to be holding an upcoming F*ree Phone Seminar in which I answer as many as possible- and your INVITED!

For those of you with some of the MORE common
health questions, such as

What is the Best Pet Food?

Natural remedies for chronic itching?

Alternatives to conventional Flea and Tick medication.

Get your answers here:

http://www.theonlinevet.com

This article came out in the news about 2 weeks ago, and raises some very valid concerns.


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MERCK SUED: HomeAgain® PET CHIP IMPLICATED IN CANCER
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Pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co. has been served with a lawsuit over claims its HomeAgain® pet microchip induced cancer in a cat. Animal rights attorney Steven Wise seeks "reasonable compensatory damages" for a malignant tumor "likely" induced by a HomeAgain® ID chip implanted in his client's cat, Bulkin. [To read Bulkin's case history click here.]

The complaint, "Andrea Rutherford v. Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. and Digital Angel, Inc.,"(case # 1052CV1147) was filed last week in Cambridge (MA) District Court. The complaint named implant maker Digital Angel Corporation as a co-defendant.

"Based on the alarming number of microchip-linked cancers we're discovering, I predict this lawsuit will be just the tip of the iceberg," said Dr. Katherine Albrecht, a consumer advocate and expert on adverse reactions associated with implantable microchips.

Bulkin's case is featured at www.ChipMeNot.com, a new website launched by Albrecht's consumer group CASPIAN to bring attention to the plight of animals who have developed cancer and other adverse reactions from ID microchips. Albrecht documents several of these cases in "Microchip-Induced Tumors in Laboratory Rodents and Dogs: A Review of the Literature 1990–2006," a peer-reviewed academic paper she presented at a June conference of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers devoted to concerns about implantable microchips.

Albrecht's paper and a copy of the complaint are also posted at www.ChipMeNot.com. The site, co-developed with graduate intern Lidiya Prorochuk, spotlights a growing number of adverse reactions to microchips, including the chip-related cancer deaths of two dogs within the past year. The site also features a form where pet owners can report adverse microchip reactions, since there is currently no official registry in the US to collect such data.

"Merck and organizations that advocate pet chipping should take this lawsuit seriously and start warning pet owners of the risk of microchip-induced cancer," Albrecht advised. "As Andrea Rutherford and other pet owners can tell you, it's not a statistic when it's your pet."

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P.S. First point here is to ensure that your pet has proper identification- I am an advocate of tattoos- permanent and safe.

It should come as no surprise that a foreign piece of plastic/metal injected permanently under your pet's skin could cause cancer.

I have seen sarcomas (skin cancers) in the area  of microchips, and I have had to perform surgery, removing a Large section of skin and tissue.

Unfortunately, the cancers have always come back- it's a difficult tumor to fully remove with surgery.

If your pet has a microchip, don't be too worried- the chance of skin cancer developing is very low.

P.P.S. Prevention is far more appealing than having to treat diseases such as cancer.

To see what I am advising for prevention of diseases such as cancer, check out:

http://www.theonlinevet.com