"Dangerous Dog Toy"
VERY DANGEROUS DOG TOY!!!! Snopes verification:
http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/pimpleball.asp
On June 22, 2008 , A 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 the 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 l and 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.
