Dangerous Dog Toy!!!!!!!
VERY DANGEROUS DOG TOY!!!! Snopes verification:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/pimpleball.asp
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, U PC Cod e #0 4566320227 9).
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 the Animal Medical Center (an emergency care facility in New
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 order 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 vet , 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 vet 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 the feeding tube in 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 meeting Chai and seeing his
condition, he removed all of the balls in question from the shelves. He also gave 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 named
Petunia. 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 than 20 minutes at 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
