A devastated dog breeder had pleaded for all dog toys that contain rope to be recalled after the sudden death of a puppy.
Andrea Wilkinson, 50, from Brisbane, Australia, has been left heartbroken after one of her puppies, Angel, a six-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog, died after her intestines became tangled with rope from the inside of her teddy bear toy.
A local vet, Dr Ray Baxter, tried in vain to save Angel’s life but there was too much rope in her body – some segments were 40 centimetres long.
Andrea has since shared her story online in a bid to raise awareness.
Training manager, Andrea said: “Angel had chewed up and swallowed the content of an ‘indestructible’ teddy bear toy that had rope inside it.
“She’d gone to live with her new owners and they’d rang to say she’d gone off her food.
“The rope blocked her intestines and bowel and she went straight through for emergency surgery from 1.30pm until 5pm and required 24-hour afterca
“During the early hours of June 8, I got a heart-breaking phone call and was told she sadly passed away due to blood poisoning.
“It is so sad because it can be prevented so easily, people think they are doing their dogs a favour, but some toys could cost their dogs life.
“People would never leave a toddler to play with something in their mouth so why should it be any different with a dog?
“This is a lesson for all dog owners, even soft toys can be harmful if they swallow them, I would recommend giving them a carrot to chew on, at least that won’t affect their insides.
“I advise for people to stop buying their dogs toys, it won’t kill them but the toys might.
“I posted on Facebook about the cause of Angel’s death and it has been shared 45,000 times and a lot of people have shared similar horror stories.”
Dr. Ray has previously had to surgically remove rubber toys and socks from dogs stomach but Angel’s case was a ‘complicated’ one.
He said: “It is devastated when a case is unsuccessful, we tried so hard to save Angel but unfortunately there was a bacteria overload from the surgery, and she turned septic.
“I removed multiple pieces of rope from Angel’s stomach, it had tied knots around her intestines – the rope was all chewed up, but one piece was approximately 40 cm long.
“Pet owners think just because a toy is sold, it is safe, but evidentially this is not always the safe and we really should be more cautious with what we give our animals.
“I recommend for people to supervise at all times when their dog is playing with a toy or give them nothing at all to avoid this happening in the future. “