As you are aware, dog toys while left alone with any dog can have the possibility of being a danger. Some toys made of soft rubber or nylon can be chewed off and swallowed, causing the dog to choke or possibly get stuck in their intestines. This is something we have to consider when choosing toys for our pets, and it is so important to put them away after they have finished playing with them.
A friend of mine alerted me to the heart-breaking story about Chai, a sweet 10 year old golden lab who, while playing with the "Pimple Ball With Bell", got his tongue sucked into the hole and tragically had to have it amputated from the severe swelling.
This toy has one hole, which creates a vacuum, allowing the tongue to be sucked in. Most rubber balls, such as the Planet Dog toys, have a second hole allowing it to collapse when chewed.
Now I am warning you, this story will leave you in tears and the video is very upsetting so view at your own risk, but here is a link to Chai's story. Chai's owners have paid more than $5,000 in vet bills and because of his rehabilitation, must care for him 24 hours a day.
Please be aware that the company who produces this ball has had other complaints and has not pulled the toy from store shelves as of today anyway. I can imagine with the wide-spread attention this event has received, it will soon be taken out of circulation. As a responsible pet product retailer, I feel this is something I should let my customers know about. We do not carry these items, and will not consider carrying products from the Four Paw line until they try to resolve this matter properly.
Please spread the word, and by all means if you have this ball - throw it away!!!
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4 comments:
That is such a sad story and I hope the company will take the ball off of their website soon! I looked at their website and am surprised that it is still being sold. Thank you for letting us know. I will send the boycott letter too.
Love Brooke
So sad that poor baby! Thanks for your links. We signed it to.
Great - the word is getting out. I was furious when I read that the company said the dog was just property!! I am sure witht the attention this is getting, they will be eating their words!
There is an update on their original Blog post with information about the Boycott of Four Paws.
Thanks for taking the time to read this - Renee
I received an Email from Four Paws last night & thought I'd post it here. I had participated in their boycott and this is the response I received after a week:
"Thank you for your response.
Like you, Four Paws is deeply concerned about reports of injuries suffered by some dogs as a result of a manufacturing defect in some of our Pimple Ball with Bell toys.
We want you to know that we have stopped shipping these toys to our distributors and we have asked them to have retailers remove the toys from their shelves immediately and return them at our expense.
We have also stopped all shipments of the toys from the manufacturer, and we are sending Executive Vice President Barry Askin to personally inspect the manufacturer’s facility in order to make sure that the defect has been corrected.
We are also changing the packaging of the Pimple Balls to make it easier to inspect them for potential defects, and we are individually inspecting every one of the toys in our inventory in order to identify any that may be defective.
Thank you again for your message and your concern. Please be assured that the safety and well being of pets is our top priority and we are doing everything we can to make sure that this problem is solved as quickly as possible.
Sincerely Yours - Four Paws Products"
Well it's about time!!!!!!!!!!!
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