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Toy Safety Warning: Four Paws’ Pimple Ball With Bell
I came across a blog yesterday that just blew me away. A toy called the “Pimply Ball with Bell,” made by the Four Paws company, has a design flaw that can lead to serious injury to your dog.
Basically, when the dog chews on the ball, a sort of vacuum effect takes place and the dog’s tongue gets sucked into a hole that exists in the ball.
In the case of the blog I read, the dog who was chewing on the ball got his tongue sucked into it so tightly, that it had to be removed from the ball by a vet.
Unbelievably, because of the tight suction and the small size of the hole in the ball, the poor dog had to have his tongue removed.
Within the last couple of days, thanks to a large outcry of the potential dangers of this product, the Four Paws company has stopped shipment of the pimple ball. The company says the ball was supposed to have two holes in it to prevent suction from taking place, but the second hole is not completely open.
According to Four Paws, existing owners of the pimple ball can locate this second, smaller hole, hold it up to the light, and poke a sharp object through the hole to make sure it is completely open.
The ball will be removed from all stores until it is redesigned to alleviate suction.
If you know a dog owner who might have this toy, let them know about the safety risk as soon as possible.
One other thing to mention: Four Paws said they will help the owner of Chai, dog who lost his tongue while playing with the ball, with his medical expenses (currently more than $5,000).
*Other companies make a similar dog toy also called the “Pimple Ball.”
As far as I know, these other balls are safe and do not suffer from the same design problem as the ball made by Four Paws Inc.
Dustin recently realized how deep his love for dogs was when he caught himself whistling while picking up dog poop in the back yard.More posts from this author (225) | Elsewhere online
That rotten company, Four Paws, was informed that another dog DIED as a result of getting his tongue stuck in the hole. And this was back in 2005!!!!! They said they’d fix it then but they did not! Do Not Buy This Toy! And beg your pet store NOT to carry it!
I have never had a problem with Four Paws Products.I have been using there products for years and would honor all of their products.I called Four Paw about this problem and they feel horrible about the situation and are doing everything to resolve this unfortunate problem….
That poor dog. I too called Four Paws and the toy is being recalled. How refreshing for a company to do the responsible thing!
Four Paws has known about Chai’s tongue amputation for two months and given the owner the runaround. Finally, they agreed to a settlement with his owner, however he found out from a man who read his blog that a dog died in 2005 from the same situation – and Four Paws promised THAT dog’s owner that they would redesign the ball – and didn’t.
Chai’s owner has now refused the settlement. Four Paws, after several weeks of negative publicity from blogs like this, finally POSTED that the product is being recalled, but it’s still for sale everywhere.
Do NOT trust Four Paws to do the right thing – keep the heat on!