Dog's emergency surgery prompts warning over popular Kmart toy
A warning has been issued by the owner of a small dog who nearly died after swallowing part of a popular dog toy.
The woman’s 10-month-old Pomeranian underwent emergency surgery on the weekend to remove part of an Anko Pet Toy Dental Bone, purchased from Kmart in New Zealand, from his bowel.
In a post to Facebook on Sunday, she wrote that her puppy’s baby teeth had managed to break off part of the small rubber toy, which was labelled as having level four “chewability”.
“I know all toys at some level will get broken but I genuinely didn’t think a chewability level four toy wouldn’t be able to be eaten by a tiny Pom,” she wrote.
Fortunately her little pooch is on the mend following his operation, but she fears others may not be aware of the potential danger of the toys, which are also available in Australian stores.
“I’m sat here thinking about all the other dogs big or small that may have this at home and could potentially need surgery too.
“Our little Pomeranian is a puppy still and like most dogs will give anything a go, but I thought I’d be safe buying him this.”
She encouraged anyone who owned the toy to throw it away pronto.
“Our Pom is 10 months old with brand new tiny teeth, so we wrote this with the intention of saving the same size or bigger dogs with stronger jaws having the same fate.”
Since sharing the warning, the post has attracted more than 2,000 comments, 1,600 shares and over 900 reactions.
Many people expressed gratitude for the “heads up”, with several saying they owned the toy in question.
“Thank you for sharing, I hope your baby will recover soon. I was at Kmart on Friday and was looking at that. Glad I didn't buy it,” one person wrote in a comment.
“Wow my doberman puppy has this at home. Going straight in the bin,” another said.
“Thank you we had one a little while ago but threw it out hope your doggie is okay,” a third wrote.
Vet says dogs with toys need supervision
Dr Leigh Davidson, director of Yourvetonline.com, told Yahoo News Australia the toys weren’t necessarily dangerous but perhaps the labelling was incorrect.
“I wouldn't be so quick to say that this toy is bad although it's possible that it has been labelled incorrectly. In this situation I recommend returning the toy to the manufacturer for assessment and testing,” Dr Davidson said.
“All dogs require supervision when playing with toys. It's impossible to provide certainty that a toy is safe for all dogs.
“Sadly, dogs swallowing parts of toys isn't an uncommon occurrence. We can't single this brand out. The important message is to observe your pet when they are playing with toys.”
Yahoo News Australia has contacted Kmart for comment.
Another pet owner recently warned others of the dangers posed by rawhide after her dog was found to have intestinal damage from a buildup of the product in its stomach.
Meanwhile, on Sunday a border collie named Jimmy was rescued after falling 20 metres down a steep cliff.
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