New Research Shows Switching to an Organic Lawn Care Program Will Greatly Reduce the Risk of Two Types of Cancer in Dogs
Evanston, IL (PRWEB) May 18, 2016 -- Americans are unwittingly choosing the look of their lawns over the health of their dogs.
In an article published in the January 2012 of "Environmental Research", researchers from Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine found that Americans are poisoning their pets by applying commonly used synthetic lawn care products such as toxic herbicides and chemical fertilizers (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0013935111003082).
“A lot of well-meaning homeowners don’t realize how dangerous common lawn & garden products are, especially to pets who want to put their noses exactly where you’ve applied them,” Marc Wise, founder and owner of Evanston-based Greenwise Organic Lawn Care (http://www.iamgreenwise.com), said. “It’s especially tragic because you can have a beautiful, healthy lawn using organic products that are readily available, affordable, and more effective that toxic synthetics.”
According to a study conducted over a six year period at the Foster Hospital for Small Animals at Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, exposure to synthetic lawn pesticides-- typically those applied by traditional professional lawn care companies – raised the risk of canine malignant lymphoma (CML) by as much as 70 percent.
Dogs at highest risk for acquiring CML were over 50 pounds and living in homes where pesticides and herbicides were professionally applied, as well as homes where owners used lawn care products containing insect growth regulators (chemical killing agents).
Another study performed at the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at Purdue University (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23584031) concluded certain garden and lawn chemicals are linked to canine bladder cancer, including common synthetic herbicides. The dogs’ exposure to the chemicals occurred through ingestion, inhalation, and transdermally (through the skin).
The study showed that most of the dogs from homes using the chemicals had herbicides in their urine. Since some dogs from homes that did not use the products also had herbicides in their urine, researchers concluded the wind could carry the chemicals up to 50 feet from the site where they were applied.
“Chemicals don’t stop at property lines,” Wise said. “We must first switch to organic lawn care in our own backyard—for our sake and the good of our neighbors—then educate our community about the needless danger we’re exposing our best friends to every time we apply dangerous chemicals to our lawn.”
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About Greenwise Organic Lawn Care, LLC
Founded in 2007, Greenwise Organic Lawn Care is the leading organic lawn care company in the Greater Chicago area. Greenwise provides organic lawn care, sustainable landscape design and installation, eco-friendly landscape maintenance, sustainable horticultural and arbor care, and eco-friendly snow removal services. More information about Greenwise can be found at http://www.iamgreenwise.com.
For additional information contact: Michael Kormanik michael(at)iamgreenwise.com (847) 866-1930
Michael Kormanik, Greenwise Organic Lawn Care, LLC, http://www.iamgreenwise.com, +1 (847) 866-1930, [email protected]
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