Dog toys that cause tongue amputations

This toy allegedly resulted in the death of one dog in 2005, and the amputation of another dog’s tongue in 2008. The email below was supposedly widely circulated in mid 2008, immediately following the incident with the author’s dog, though I never heard about it.

Snopes

Author’s Blog

Company Recall

Consumer Product Safety Commission recall by company website

I’d suggest being sure all balls for your dog (and other toys that could create a vacuum after being squeezed) have vent holes on opposite sides of the toy to prevent this from happening.

Regardless of their conciliatory tone now, there is a credible allegation Four Paws was informed of a death caused by this toy in 2005 and did nothing. It wasn’t until the author outed them in 2008 that they recalled the toy from their distributors. No one who bought this toy before late 2008 would know to check the company website for recalls.

It is unconscionable Four Paws hasn’t requested CPSC post a voluntary recall of this product. And while it was reasonable Four Paws referred the author to their insurance company for further discussion, the insurance company allegedly lied about the possible 2005 dog death caused by this product, initially declined to recall the product, and in general the company reaction was totally unacceptable. If an insurer treated one of my Customers similarly, I would work towards replacing them immediately.

We obviously don’t know what the author was requesting from the insurance company, and I don’t think pain and suffering compensation would be reasonable. But I think all vet bills to this point should be refunded, in addition to consideration for future vet and food bills caused by this injury, and some provision for the author’s lost time in feeding and retraining the dog.