Don’t Use Flea Treatments!! I Believe My Dogs Immune System Was Poisoned And She Died From Using Advocate

By Jade | August 2, 2017

If any of you follow my social media you will see that my gorgeous Lhasa Apso Daisy May had to be put to sleep last week which left our whole family absolutely heartbroken!! She wasn’t just a dog she was my baby and in my opinion she would be still here today if it wasn’t for using ‘ Advocate ‘Spot On Flea Treatment.

It all started last Summer ( 2016 ) I was recommended Advocate by the vet when I took her in as she had been itching. I had searched her coat but they said it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I took their advice and used the treatment. I was prescribed Advocate for Medium sized dogs, even though daisy was quite a small dog, but at the time I thought obviously the vets know best and I always had the upmost respect and faith towards them. After the first treatment, she run around having a bit of a wildly as I called it and was rolling round on her back but at the time I just thought she might have felt a bit funny with this liquid on her neck and back area. I remember her being slightly off her food that evening but thought it may just be down the heat as it was August.  It said on the box to apply every 4 weeks but the next time I used it was early December. I applied it and within a short period of time she was covered in a blister type rash and her skin was inflamed. I asked the vet could it be the flea treatment and they said no and recommended she take a course of amoxicillin, use a scrub, consider neutering her and continue with the Advocate flea treatment. I came home and decided to not use any more chemicals on her and just see how she goes. She seemed to generally get better by herself.

A few months later ( March ) Daisy was playing with a friends dog who said that she may have fleas so I went to the vet and spoke to the girl on reception and explained I was a bit concerned that I felt there was issues with Advocate spot on treatment and I felt a bit uneasy on using the same product again. I questioned the dosage as she’s only tiny and last time she came out in a rash but she assured me I was looking too much in to so I bought another box of 3. I came home and felt uneasy still using the product so thought I would wait till I actually saw a flea on her. That day didn’t come.

On a Sunday ( Mid June ) I decided to take Daisy out for a morning walk as we left our home she escaped off the lead and started running and barking at a hedgehog. I instantly panicked that she would get fleas off it so after our walk I put the Advocate flea treatment on her. Over the next two weeks she was off her food and was not herself but I thought it may just be the heat of the summer days / nights. Food started to be quite difficult to get down her becoming very fussy with what she was eating. It was only 2 weeks later that I took her to the groomers (she went every 4 weeks ) and she called me and said her gums were white and the backs of her ears white. I asked is this not normal she said no she wasn’t like this 4 weeks ago and that these symptoms in dogs can be quite serious as it is a sign of anemia. Straight to the vet I went (4th July ) they said her weight was now 4 ½ Kg so she had dropped just over ½ a kg which they thought was quite concerning and run a full set of bloods.

I was called the next day and told Daisy’s body was not producing any red bloods cells which came as a huge shock as she was absolutely fine in herself apart being off her food. The vet hit me with a list of tests over £1000 and was told the severity of the situation. I asked could it be the flea treatment and he said no it could maybe, be her kidneys, a lump on her ovaries or her bone marrow etc which I was struggling to take in due to the shock of the situation. My gorgeous little dog was the picture of health a couple of weeks ago going on long walks fully or energy and loving life!  Long story short and 4 weeks of staying off work, sleepless nights and numerous vet visits with constant tests. After a process of elimination I was able to rule out liver and kidney damage, leukaemia, internal bleeding and many other things. Each week my poor little baby was dropping in her red blood cells, she was becoming so weak, and not really enjoying life that it broke my heart. Each time I went back the vet ( The second vet now as I no longer trusted the original vet ) her bloods were dropping and dropping each week she went from 29 ( lowest it should be Is 36) to 25, 21,19,16. By this time I was at my wits end of not getting any answers and basically watching my baby die in front of my eyes. The vet said as a last resort before putting her to sleep to try her on a high dosage of steroids ( Prednisone in the hope to override her immune system ) and see how she is a week’s time. In the mean time I had sent her bloods off to a specialist vet in America who said they think she had AHIA ( AutoImmue Hemolytic Anemia )  this is where her own body is seeing a foreign object in her blood and killing her own red blood cells which is why she was not getting better. A week later I took her back to the vet, she had improved so much in herself for the first time in 4 weeks she was eating normal and was going for walks again, hiding her treats (which she hadn’t done in a while) and generally getting her spirit back. I was praying that the trip to the vets was going to be the outcome that I had dreamed of. Her bloods had dropped only by 1 this time… not 5 as before so it proved the steroids were working as they had begun to stop or slow down the attack her body was under. The vet prescribed another week of steroids but sadly her body was too weak to put her through the intensive amount of drugs and the lack of oxygen going around her body to her brain and organs was just too low she began to collapse. She was going dizzy and struggling to breathe so we decided it was in Daisy’s best interest to put her to sleep. If we would have known 4 weeks ago what we knew at the end she may have been able to overcome the attack that was taking place.

I contacted the vet in America and asked what causes Autoimmune Hepatic as it was such a sudden horrible attack that came out of nowhere. She said something always triggers it off poisons, injections, chemicals, toxins… which took me straight back the flea treatment. It began to finally make sense. The flea treatment was in her system and blood stream.. her body and immune system saw it as a foreign object and starting attacking her own blood cells to the point where there was almost nothing left.

People might say this is just a coincidence…….and that may be right, but I have had such a strong ‘ GUT’ feeling through this whole process and people made me feel like I was being paranoid… but if my paranoia can save just one dog’s life then PLEASE DON’T USE ANY of these HORRIFFIC chemicals on your fluffy babies. I cannot turn back time but my little Daisy was taken from me far too young.

It cost me over £1000 to run tests, scans, bloods and to have my baby put to sleep.. I wouldn’t have cared if I had to pay £1000’s but to have to pay this money and be left with out your dog its something I do not think any body would want to go through.

Since my experience I have done a lot of research and it seems I’m not the only person who has gone through a bad experience. If you are worried about fleas then there is a number of holistic remedies that can do the same job. I just wish I would have been made aware of this and I may still have my little Daisy.

Here are just a few comments I have taken from MANY off the internet. As you can see I am not the only person who has been left heartbroken and out of pocket down to products you are advised to use on your cats / dogs.

There are alot of herbal remedies out there if you take a look online that are a much safer option to use. I myself will NEVER use anything like this again. If anybody has been in a similar situation I would be really interested in hearing your story. Please email me Jade@jadeainsworthgossip.co.uk

Thank you for taking the time to read this article If it can stop even one person going through what I have then all I can say is it was worth it!