To the editor:
I am writing this letter as an attempt to reach out to other dog lovers to warn about a certain toy that has the potential to hurt the canine member in a family.
In sharing about my family’s recent experience, let me first give a history of my little boy. Howie, a little 4-year-old Yorkie Poo, has already gone through so much in his young life. In 2007, he apparently got a small piece of rawhide bone or part of a milk bone cookie treat lodged in his throat. He suffered oxygen starvation as a result of this, which left him a vegetable for about a month, and caused nerve damage to his left side. It is because of this that we never leave him alone.
With me being pretty much a shut-in, Howie and I spend a lot of time alone at home while the rest of the family is away.
We brought a new toy for Howie … it was called a “dogtronics Sound Toy-engaging Treat Ball (Treat Tumble)”. When activated, the ball, made of hard plastic, makes sounds. It had a small cavity in which treats could be hidden for a dog to retrieve. Howie scampered after the toy, then picked it up in his mouth.
After some time went by, we noticed that his teeth were stuck inside of the toy’s cavity. Howie was in a panic, thrashing his face back and forth in an attempt to break free. We were in a panic, Bob struggling to get our little dog out of this horrible nightmare, Deanna helplessly looking on, and me removing myself from the room with my hands covering my ears and tears streaming down my face. It was sheer torture for Howie and for all of us, as Bob struggled to make this now hated toy release its grip from our little baby boy’s mouth. I never want to hear my darling puppy cry like that again. It felt like a knife going through my heart.
I’m sharing this with you so that no other precious dog and his or her family ever go through a similar horror!
How is Howie doing now? After he was finally rescued from the evil grip of the “monster toy”, he bestowed kisses of thanks to his daddy, mama and sissy for saving him. We tossed the hated toy in the garbage, and, later on, Deanna went to the store to buy a plush “Bo-Bo” for him. It’s a joy to watch him play, a smile in his eyes. We all need to protect these gifts from God … they are man’s (and woman’s) best friend!
Caribou
