Warning About Pimple Ball With Bell Toy
I received a message from one of our pup pals, Bailey, about a heartbreaking incident that started with a very innocuous looking toy. This is the story of Chai, a beautiful 10 year old lab mix.
On Sunday, June 22, 2008 my 10-year old lab mix, Chai, sustained a severe injury from a product that the company Four Paws Inc, produces. The toy I’m referencing is the pimple ball with bell. (Item #20227-001, UPC Code 0 4566320227 9)
While chewing on the toy, a vacuum was created and it effectively sucked his tongue into the hole in the ball. From speaking with my vet, this likely occurred because there is not a second hole in the ball preventing the vacuum effect from happening. I became aware of this when Chai approached a friend at my home whimpering with the ball in his mouth. She tried unsuccessfully to remove the ball but the tongue had swollen and could not be released.
Chai was taken to the Animal Medical Center (an emergency care facility in New York City) and was treated by Dr. Nicole Spurlock to have the ball removed. Because the size of the opening on the ball was so small, all circulation to his tongue was cut off. The doctors had to sedate him in order to remove it. Once the ball was removed, his tongue swelled to the point that he could no longer put it in his mouth. Chai was sent home with care instructions and to be observed overnight for any changes.
By the following morning his tongue continued to swell.
He was taken to his regular vet, Dr. Timnah Lee, for treatment. He was admitted and kept sedated for a period of three days during which time they were treating his wounds and waiting to determine how much of his tongue could be saved. On June 26, 2008 Chai had his tongue amputated.
He was kept in after-care for an additional three days. On Sunday June 29th I brought Chai home from the vet with a barrage of home care instructions, to last for an additional 7 days. His next visit was to have his mouth re-examined and have the feeding tube in his neck removed.
The following is a link to an animal treatment clinic that has also documented the same injury to a Shepard mix.
www.logcabinanimalhospital.com/index.php/toy-ball-stuck-on-dogs-tongue/
I sent this information along with the reference to Petunia the french bulldog to Four Paws Inc, and it is their position that there just aren’t enough instances to do anything about this. I told their Insurance company’s case manager that was not a good enough excuse, It was inferred that my dogs value wasn’t much and that his pain and suffering don’t count as he is just a piece of property.
This should never happen to another animal again!
Chai’s owner now has over $5000 in vet bills as well as countless other bills that are associated with his care. Please take a minute to read the entire story of Chai so that we can get the word out about the Pimple Ball with bell toy. If the company refuses to take responsibility for its product then it’s our responsibility, as consumers, to take a stand and protect our innocent pets.
OMD! How awful! Poor Chai – we hope you recovery quickly and are very sorry to hear about having to have your tongue amputated! We can’t imagine how painful that must have been.
Obviously 4 Paws doesn’t care about the consumers of their products – the dogs! We will be boycotting them and urging others to as well.
We sent Four Paws an email but also filed a recall request through Consumer Product Safety Commission. we threw away all our toys from Four Paws.
There are 3 different stores where we live that carry Four Paws we have contacted them and will be posting a what happened to Chai.
We informed Four Paws everything we have done. Also, told them that Chai’s story is posted all alot of groups (we posted on all our Boxer groups outside of Dogster), websites and blogs
I sent them an email and also informed them that this information is appearing on various agility listservs which reach thousands of dog owners. I feel confident that the company will be forced to take the necessary and ethical action to deal with this problem.
I emailed the company last night to say I will boycott their products. It says to delete the reply that I was given, makes me wonder why if they are doing the right thing, so here it goes! Lock me up because I did not agree to not passing vital information to dog owners regarding this product or the actions promised by the company! Here is what I got this morning from them:
Thank you for your recent note expressing concern over the Four Paws® Pimple Ball with Bell. We were equally alarmed to learn that a dog may have injured himself while playing with this toy.
Dogs have been enjoying the Pimple Ball with Bell for more than a decade with over 500,000 units sold. In all the years this product has been on the market, this is the first injury of this nature that we are aware of. Unfortunately, accidents sometimes happen. That’s why we recommend that dogs always be supervised when they are playing with any toy. We take great care in developing safe products for pets and their owners.
At this point we have identified the problem and are not shipping any more Pimple Balls. We have contacted customers that carry this product and have asked them to immediately return their inventory.
Thank you for your concern and feedback. Please know that we are in direct communication with the pet owner whose dog was injured. At Four Paws, happy pets and satisfied pet owners are our number one priority. Rest assured we will continue to work hard to deliver on our priority.
Sincerely,
Allen Simon
President, CEO
Four Paws Products
Sent by Haley Birk on behalf of Allen Simon
My Email -
To: Haley Birk
Subject: Boycott against your company
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.
hbirk@fourpaws.com
OMD ! our prayers are with Chai & his family . this hits very close to home as our Springer Spaniel Buster choked to death on a very similar toy back in 2000 . looks just like it but it was a different company . we were right there …. it happened so quickly … now we don’t give our dog Eve anything small enough that could lodge in her throat to play with.
Well my mimple ball is going straight in the bin.
Well my pimple ball is going straight in the bin.
OMD… Poor Chai.
I joined Zoe in writing to Four Paws, asking for a recall of the Pimple Ball Product. I also forwarded to the ASPCA to also ask for a recall of the Pimple Ball as well.
It is a shame to me that people get rich off of dog owners who want to buy their dogs interactive toys and other niceties. But when we need them to step up to the plate and recall something that is harming our dogs they turn their backs on us. I will never ever buy another Four Paws Product, whether or not the ball is recalled or not. Their inability to say yes right away to the recall shows their inhumanity towards dogs and their owners.
I continually give kudos to The Kong Company for their safe and interactive dog and now cat products.
Thanks for posting the email address Zoe, my email has been sent to Hailey Birk.
Right now I am wondering if I have made the list…. ya know the one Big Brother looks at… LOL.
Kim & Coco
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.
Chai’s owner had accepted an offer of “help” with the vet bills from Four Paws, but has changed her mind since recv’ing info that a dog DIED from this product:
zbk57 said…
A friend just forwarded your blog to me. It was with shock and horror that I read about Chai’s experience.
My dog Cole was injured in exactly the same way in July of 2005. It was with the very same Four Paws ball.
After phone calls and letters to the company I was assured the ball design would be changed. I have copies of what I sent to them. I was told several times this was just a freak accident and I agreed but still asked they change the design so that no other dog would suffer. I hope they did not tell you this had never happened before because I can assure you THEY KNEW about the problem in 2005!
Now to see that they did not respond and did not make changes and other dogs suffered needlessly makes me very sad. These balls are not sold in any stores near me, so I was not able to check to see if they had modified the design.
My Coley boy died as a result of his injuries. He was a 5 year old bouncy beautiful lab mix that wagged his tail up till the very end when we let him cross the rainbow bridge due to the horrendous injury to his tongue.
Please write to me at onedogmatters@comcast.net if you would like more info about my interaction with this company.
I am SO SORRY I did not fight harder and took them at their word.
August 21, 2008 7:54 PM
I purchased one of these balls back in May for Tahoe. One of two Border Collies I have. He is an exception to the rule for borders, he doesn’t chase the ball, doesn’t want you to throw it, he just wants to herd it. Then he will lay down and chew on it a while and then the process happens all over again. About a week in, I heard him yelp not once but twice in about 5 minutes. I got up and saw that he had a few bright purple spots on his tongue. So I coaxed him into the living room so I could watch him with the ball. His tongue was literallu sticking to the hole in the ball. I could hear the sucking noise. Then, he sttod up with this ball stuck to his tongue, shook his head to get it off, as it hit the floor he yelped again, and there was another purple spot on his tongue. I picked up the ball and threw it in the bin. I’ve done a bit of investigating and to be honest, it’s amazing how many people have had what happened to Tahoe happen to them. Tahoe is one of the luck ones.
My heart goes out to Chai and Cole, as well as their owners. My dogs are my babies.
CHAI——- poor sweet boy! Please tell us where we can send you cards and gifts. It broke my heart to see you in pain…please how can we contact you so we can help???
[...] miscellania — Tags: health, dogs, animals, pets, safety, toys — dionysius @ 7:05 am Warning About Pimple Ball With Bell Toy » Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog – my friend Caryn sent me this via email and I figured I would pass it along to anyone who loves [...]
[...] Warning About Pimple Ball With Bell Toy » Dogster for the Love of Dog Blog – my friend Caryn sent me this via email and I figured I would pass it along to anyone who loves dogs, and that should be anyone and everyone ! [...]
The Truth About Four Paws Toy
My name is Dr. Charles Greco. I’m a veterinarian in New York. I came across your blog about your dog Chai. I wanted to extend my well wishes for a speedy recovery. I own 6 dogs, 2 cats, 4 birds and 3 tortoises, so I know how much a pet can become a part of the family. I was shocked to learn that the toy that hurt poor Chai came from Four Paws Pet Products. I have used many products from Four Paws from Wee Wee Pads to toys and dental products and I have always found them to be of the highest quality. I personally contacted Four Paws today and talked to some lady in the customer service department that told me that the toy that hurt Chai was the result of a manufacturing defect with its pimple ball with bell toy. She explained that the defect, which is very difficult to see with the naked eye, is caused by a blockage in a small hole in the ball that is critical to regulating the suction inside the toy. She also told me that when Four Paws learned of the injury to Chai they immediately stopped shipping the product to distributors and retailers. She also said that Four Paws asked any retailers that had this toy in their possession to remove the toy and send them back to Four Paws. She told me that Four Paws is individually inspecting everyone of the pimple balls in its inventory in order to identify and discard any that are defective. She also said that Four Paws will also be changing the packaging of its pimple balls to make it easier to inspect them for potential defects. I was surprised when she told me that the Executive V.P., Barry Askin, was so deeply moved by the injury to Chai that he is personally visiting the manufacturer next month to inspect the manufacturer’s operation and to make sure the defect has been corrected and that procedures are in place to make sure the defect has been corrected and that procedures are in place to make sure it will not happen again. It was reassuring that this company is not sitting by idly but is taking an active role in making sure this terrible accident never happens again. I would just urge any pet owner who may already own one of these toys to check carefully to see if the second small hole in the ball is blocked. If they have any doubt whether the hole is open they should not let their pet play with the ball. I also went on Four Paws’ webpage, http://www.fourpaws.com. On the webpage they state that they will replace any defective toy. Again, all the best to you and Chai. I hope the two of you can share many years of happiness ahead.
I just threw the ball away
Mommy sent a letter to Four Paws too, here is their response:
Thank you very much for your 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 with Bell toys.
We want you to know that we have stopped shipping these toys to our distributors and we have asked them to have retailers remove the toys from their shelves immediately 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.
We are also changing the packaging of the Pimple Balls to make it easier to inspect them for potential defects, and we are individually inspecting every one of the toys in our inventory in order to identify any that may be defective.
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 Yours
Four Paws Products
Allen Simon
President/CEO
One more thing… we packed up everything we had from Four Paws and mailed it back to them.. with Chai’s story in the box.
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 all over the web.
Do NOT trust Four Paws to do the right thing – keep the heat on!
This is such a sad story. My thoughts are with Chai and his family. I worry all of the time that something could happen to Lucky.
I write a pet blog for the newspaper I work for and while doing some research came across a recall from Four Paws posted last Friday. http://www.petproductnews.com/headlines/2008/08/29/pet-toys-recalled-after-dog-injury.aspx
I think it’s appalling it took this long for them to recall the toy. The company says its a defect where the second hole was sealed. How small was that hole that no one in the company noticed it was sealed?
I won’t be buying any Four Paws merchandise and I’ll tell my friends to do the same.
[...] wanted to share one more recall with you today. Dogster’s For the Love of Dog blog shared this story with everyone. Warning: Photo could be difficult to look [...]
I’m so sorry to hear your story. I will be writing Four Paws a letter in support of boycotting them and their products. What a sad story. Every company looks at these situations with money as their agenda. If the heat on them disappears it is likely that we will see this again. Corporations find that it is cheaper to pay out individual cases then recall all items. kudos to every one who has wrote them. If has forced them to take action. Keep the heat on!