On Sunday, 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.
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.
(This is video of Chai showing the pain level
that he had for the first three days despite being on heavy doses of pain
medication)
On the 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 $5000.00 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.
Also - I am Chai’s sole caretaker and the regime
required to care for him following his surgery has forced me to lose a great
deal of business. I am a hair stylist and my salon is in my home. Given that
Chai needs constant attention, and given that he has been wailing in pain, I
have not been able to see clients.
Additionally, I now have to re-teach my
dog to eat, drink and adjust to life without his tongue. Just walking him
requires about 30min twice a day and we only make it three blocks. 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 time.
The following is a
link to an animal treatment clinic that has also documented the same injury to a
Shepard mix.
www.logcabinanimalhospital.com/index.php/toy-ball-stuck-on-dogs-tongue/I
sent this information along with the reference to Petunia 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.
This should never happen to another animal again!
I'M CALLING FOR AN INTERNATIONAL BOYCOTT OF ALL FOUR
PAWS PRODUCTS UNTIL THIS PRODUCT IS RECALLED. We need your help, please take the
time to make your voice heard.
Please copy/paste the following
into the body of your email in support of this boycott and send it to the
address below to let Allen Simon the CEO of four paws know your
stand;
Mr. Allen Simon,
I am in support of a boycott of
your company until you recall the product pimple ball with bell,
as it is
designed is such a way that irreparable damage can be caused by its
use.
hbirk@fourpaws.com