AUGUSTA – State Veterinarian Don Hoenig is issuing a warning to all pet owners about the dangers of high concentrations of lead in pet toys.

Hoenig is doubly concerned, he said, because many households with pets also have children who sometimes put a pet’s toys in their mouths.

Pet toy lead content also is worrying the Federation of Maine Dog Clubs. Legislative chairman Jay Kitchner said it would be discussed at the federation’s annual meeting later this month.

“Our biggest concern in the past was the food,” he said, referring to toxic pet food ingredients from China that sickened and killed dozens of pets in the United States. “We are aware of the problem of lead in toys,” he said. “Members are warning each other through e-mails every day.”

The issue of lead in pet toys surfaced last year when consumers across the country began independently testing their pets’ toys. Some discovered high lead levels.

Hoenig became involved when a Turner veterinarian, Dr. Barbara Perkins, treated a dog that had eaten part of a tennis ball toy.

“The dog was very, very sick,” Hoenig said, “and X-rays were taken.” Hoenig said the X-rays revealed white calcification in the dog’s stomach, similar to what bones would look like in an X-ray.

“Dr. Perkins then X-rayed the ball and saw the same calcification,” Hoenig said. Perkins sent the ball to a Cornell University laboratory for examination and it was reported to have high levels of lead.

“We are not sure if the dog became sick from lead poisoning or from actually eating the ball,” Hoenig said.

Perkins was so concerned, he said, that she bought dozens of other pet toys, all made in China, and found they all tested high in lead content.

When Hoenig turned to the American Veterinary Association for help, he said, he was referred to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Consumer Product Safety Commission.

“We found that neither one is monitoring or has jurisdiction over pet toys,” he said. “It will be up to us to go public with our concerns.”

Last fall, ConsumerAffairs.com independently tested dog toys for content. “Two Chinese-made toys for pets sold at Wal-Mart stores contain elevated levels of lead, chromium and cadmium, according to a forensic toxicologist whose lab tested the products for ConsumerAffairs.com,” the Web site says. “Two veterinarians, however, said the levels of toxic metals found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs or cats. Whether the toys are a hazard to children and adults who handle them isn’t clear.”

A popular Web site for pet owners, www.familyvet.com, said that pet owners should not be alarmed. “Should we worry? Not really, or at least not at the panic level that these news reports can sometimes cause in the pet-loving populace,” the Web site says. “The lead levels found in the toys do not pose a health risk to dogs and cats. Unless other tests have since been done showing higher levels of lead, those toys are not dangerous to our dogs and cats.

“But what about dogs licking or chewing the toys? Or eating from the same bowls (that may contain lead) every day? What about chronic exposure and lead building up in the body over time? At the reported lead levels in those toys and the current life span of most dogs, it is still not a concern.”

Hoenig said the issue still needs to be brought before the public, especially because of the human connection. Referring to the pet toys, he said, “Kids play with them, too.”

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