One very unhappy pet owner in Medina, Ohio is warning other consumers about the possible dangers of the very popular KONG chew toys for dogs. Her dog was in intensive care for days after reportedly swallowing a piece of one of the famous chew toys.
It all started earlier this week when Laci, an 11-year-old yellow Labrador retriever, began vomiting and it continued for days. After a while, her owner allegedly found a thick red piece of plastic in the vomit. Keri Pavlick, Laci’s owner, is convinced that the plastic is part of a red KONG toy that Laci had chewed through just days before the vomiting began.
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Plavick told veterinarians that the entire top part of the toy had been chewed to pieces. Shortly after chewing through the toy Laci began vomiting, and after three days her owner took her to see a veterinarian. She went back to the vet every day for three days, but the doctors were stumped.
On Monday April 13th after days of continuous vomiting and no answers, Plavick was convinced Laci was dying. Lethargic and weak, Laci was admitted to the animal hospital. She had contracted pneumonia due to the constant vomiting.
An ultrasound was performed, and another piece of plastic was found in Laci’s stomach. Doctor’s performed surgery immediately to remove it from her system.
Three days in intensive care and a bill of more than $8,000 was enough to make Plavick herself sick. She says that she never thought her dog would be able to chew through a KONG toy because they are known to hold up well to even the most aggressive chewers.
She searched the internet, out of curiosity, and found many other instances where dogs were able to chew through the toys. There were even other allegations of the pieces making dogs sick. She is hoping to spread the word of Laci’s story so other dog owners will be educated about the potential dangers of what many believe to be a very safe toy.
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Joe Markham, founder of KONG, made a statement about the incident as well. He says that although the company hasn’t had many issues there have been a few and that is going to happen in any business that sells as many products as they do. He also made it very clear that there are size recommendations on all KONG products and large dogs should not have small KONG toys.
Markham also said that KONG advises all owners to supervise their pets while they are chewing on any toy. Pavlick responded that her dog did have the correct size KONG for her breed and that she believes that it is ridiculous that owners should have to watch their dog every minute that they are chewing on a dog toy that claims to be safe.
