Received this email today and thought I'd pass it on.
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 #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.
This is the dog's tongue
not the Toy!
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 t he way home from
the vet we stopped at Petland 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 appointm ents 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
dog's value wasn't much and that his pain and suffering don't count as
he is just a piece of property.
