nicestman77 Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ IF YOU OWN A DOG . THIS JUST MIGHT SAVE YOUR DOG'S LIFE OR A FRIEND'S DOG - PLEASE PASS ON Scary and true.�� You've seen these rubber toys with the "bell" inside.� Stay away from buying them for your dog.� They can be deadly!! On June 22, 2008 , my 10-year old lab mix, Chai, sustained a severe injury from a product that the company Four Paws, Inc., produces. The toy I'm referencing is the pimple ball with bell (Item #20227-001, UPC Code #045663202279). While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball.From speaking with my vet , this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening. I became aware of this when Chai approached a friend at my home whimpering with the ball in his mouth. She tried unsuccessfully to remove the ball but the tongue had swollen and could not be released. Chai was taken to theAnimalMedicalCenter(an emergency care facility inNew York City) and was treated by Dr. Nicole Spurlock to have the ball removed.Because the size of the opening on the ball was so small, all circulation to his tongue was cut off. The doctors had to sedate him in ord ER to remove it. Once the ball was removed, his tongue swelled to the point that he could no longer put it in his mouth. Chai was sent home with care instructions and to be observed overnight for any changes. By the following morning, Chai's tongue had swollen even more. He was taken to his regular et , Dr. Timnah Lee, for treatment. He was admitted and kept sedated for a period of three days during which time they were treating his wounds and waiting to determine how much of his tongue could be saved. On June 26, 2008 , Chai had his tongue amputated. He was kept in after-care for an additional three days. On Sunday, June 29th, I brought Chai home from the v et with a barrage of home care instructions, to last for an additional 7 days. His next visit was to have his mouth re-examined and have thefeeding tubein his neck removed. On the way home from the vet we stopped at Pet land Discount where I purchased their product to speak to the manager on duty. Upon me et ing Chai and seeing his condition, he removed all of the balls in question from the shelves. He also Ga ve me the customer service number to their corporate headquarters to request that they refuse to continue purchasing all Four Paws products, but I have not called them as of yet . Additionally, I shared my story with friends who have a French Bulldog . Upon hearing my story, their eyes widened. They explained that the same thing happened twice in one night with a smaller version of the same ball to their dog. Fortunately, they were able to pull it off before the tongue swelled, but not without tremendous effort and pain to the dog. They recalled how horrific it was to hear their dog screaming while they had to pry the ball from her tongue. To date, my veterinary bills total over $5,000 and I will have regular follow up appointments for some time. Additionally, Chai now requires a much more expensive form of food because of this injury, averaging approximately $200 per month. Additionally, I now have to re-teach my dog to eat, drink and adjust to life without his tongue. Feeding him takes me about 90 minutes twice a day and for at least this first week he is not to be unattended for more than20 minutesat a time. I sent this information along with the reference to the French Bulldog to Four Paws, Inc., and it is their position that there just aren't enough instances to do anything about this. I told their insurance company's case manager that was not a good enough excuse. It was inferred that my dogs value wasn't much and that his pain and suffering don't count as he is just a piece of property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sankari Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Reading that absolutely tore my heart out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rexiam Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 What a heartbreaking story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiniMum Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 How horrible for you and Chai Thank you for warning us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 OMG what a heartbreaking story... Thank you so much sharing and warning us. May I cross-post on another forum please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicestman77 Posted January 24, 2009 Author Share Posted January 24, 2009 (edited) OMG what a heartbreaking story... Thank you so much sharing and warning us. May I cross-post on another forum please. Hi there. Yes you are very welcome to post it in it's correct forum, it is very important that all dog owners are a aware of this, I personally believe that supervision of all animal toys should be a daily inspection job, you never know when things are going to break, nicestman77. Edited January 24, 2009 by nicestman77 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kajtek Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3dogsnight Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 How absolutely ghastly for you and your dog. Thank you for this information though. I have one of those toys. I shall throw it in the garbage bin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FB Rescue_Adoption Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 your poor dog..sorry to hear this has happened. It's just awful and very sad, I know never to buy one of these for my dogs ever! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joanne76 Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thankyou so much for your warning. I have owned one of these in the past and will double check my back yard to make sure i no longer have one. I will also forward your warning to all my dog owning friends. Chais face has made me so sad, I wish I could give him a cuddle.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ninahartland Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Thanks for that warning Nicestman.Am always looking for new balls to buy.Certainly won't be getting that type! A big hug for Chais Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VJB Posted January 24, 2009 Share Posted January 24, 2009 Poor Chais, that must have been just so horrible for him, and for those who had to look on. I don't have one of those balls, but this story will be etched in my mind for ever. Will pass on info to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now