Dangerous Toy Warning for dog owners (link included)?

thank you for putting that link up, i sent it to my friends and family that have dogs. god bless all the animal and animal lovers.

I don't currently have one of these, but I am forwarding this like hotcakes to all of my friends and of course the pet place that I work for will know about it as well.

The toy looks like one that my parents had purchased for their basset hounds. Luckily, all of the dogs acted like the ball had a "bad smell" or something and didn't want to go near it. Four Paws seems to make pretty iffy products in general, and I avoid their stuff, including their disgusting shampoos (sorry, I don't know any other groomers beside myself who would recommend it either).

Thanks so much for the heads-up on this. In a word: Disturbing!

Yikes, my goodness that poor dog. No I do not own a dog toy like that and now I never will. I've sent it to my mom and sister and told them to pass it along.

Thanks for the heads up I will be avoiding that toy at all costs.

That's scary...I'd never seen anything like that before.

No, I don't own this toy. Of course, my recommendation is that dogs should be monitored during play anyway. I used to leave a Kong toy when I went to work, but it didn't get used much. Otherwise, I'm always around when my boys have toys.

I was in the pet section of Wal-Mart yesterday and saw two or three different toys that have the same problem. These companies seem to either not care or are just not doing the research to offer safe toys. As for Chai's case, I'd be worried about the choking hazzard of the bell inside as well.

Wow, that is one scary story: here is what I posted as requested to the company of Four Paws:

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.

Note:

After reading Chai's story and other - me myself being pet owner was sickened to the thought that you or your company displaced a lack of concern stating the dog was no more that just a piece of property other than a living, breathing creature.

Now here is one hell of a scenario - on an extremely hot summer day, you yourself walk into a convenience store and purchase a nice refreshing cold bottled beverage. In the process of drinking this beverage your tongue gets stuck. As a result your tongue becomes injured due ot product design! After days of severe pain and trips back and forth for medical treatment, your tongue has to be removed due to life threatening issues.

Now what? Are you just a piece of property or are you a living, breathing, feeling creature?

"THINK ABOUT THAT"

Concerned pet owner who has now joined the boycott to any product sold by your company - remember, 1 persons word of mouth is worth more than a 1000 words and can either be your best or worse enemy!!!

The parents of 3 little boys, who would love to play with safe and friendly balls which apparently you don't have,

Napoleon, Nikko and Valentino...

**********************************************************************************

Letter of response to the above e-mail I received:

Here is the response I received back from the company of Four Paws ref the above e-mail I sent:

Thank you very much for your email message. Like you, Four Paws is deeply concerned about reports of injuries suffered by some dogs as a result of a manufacturing defect in some of our Pimple Ball toys.

We want you to know that we have stopped shipping these toys to our distributors and we have asked them to have retailers immediately remove the toys from their shelves and return them at our expense.

We have also stopped all shipments of the toys from the manufacturer, and we are sending Executive Vice President Barry Askin to personally inspect the manufacturer’s facility in order to make sure that the defect has been corrected. The ball was designed with two holes to eliminate risk of suction. Unfortunately, in the production of some balls, the smaller second hole became blocked on the inside, thus making it hard to detect the defect with the naked eye.

As a result, in addition to repairing the toy molds, we are also changing the packaging of the Pimple Balls. The packaging change will result in a tie that must clear both holes, thus insuring there are always two clear holes in the toy.

If you purchased a Four Paws Pimple Ball with Bell toy, please immediately take the toy away from your pet. Instructions to return the toy are posted on our website www.fourpaws.com.

Thank you again for your message and your concern. Please be assured that the safety and well being of pets is our top priority and we are doing everything we can to make sure that this problem is solved as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Oh my God, that poor dog! I will avoid this toy at all costs. I want to send it to my mom, but I don't know how!

wow thanx for the heads up. will never buy this toy for my dogs

omg i read the story and im soooo thankful that i didnt have that toy and now i wont get it! thanks alot!