There are just some things you never want to see as an animal owner, and a potentially life-threatening yet surprising situation like this is most definitely one of them.
We all know that pooches just love to play around with their favorite humans, but when we’re not around, their toys will most likely do the trick too.
Unfortunately, not all toys are as harmless as they seem.
When this poor pup played with one of her favorite toys, it almost ended up very, very badly.
If you don’t have a strong stomach, some of the pictures in this article might be upsetting to some people, as they can be quite graphic in nature. Viewer discretion is advised.
It all started when this adorable black labrador named Poppy was home alone for a little while.
Poppy is definitely used to being on her own during the day, but her owners James and Helen Hartley had no idea that she would get herself into a very dangerous, and you could even say life-threatening, predicament.
Their well-behaving four-footer likes to keep herself busy with all kinds of toys in the house, of which a small rubber tennis-like ball was her favorite. She loves playing around with it and could spend hours in silence with her favorite toy – until one day when it all went horribly wrong.
There was a hole in the rubber ball and Poppy managed to get her tongue stuck right in it.
Ironically, the hole in the rubber ball was actually specifically made by the manufacturer as a precaution for choking, but it ended up having this unfortunate side effect instead. The hole was definitely never meant for dogs to put their tongue into it.
When they got home, they noticed how distressed she was and that her tongue was stuck.
They weren’t sure how long that their four-footer had already been in this predicament, but as soon as they saw it, they worked hard to try and get her free.
After some struggling, Helen and James actually managed to get the ball off of her tongue, but Poppy wasn’t out of the woods just yet.
The poor dog started acting extremely strange, so she was rushed to the veterinary clinic. Once they arrived at the Foxhall Veterinary Clinic in Ruskington, Lincolnshire, Poppy started to calm down a little bit.
Veterinarians checked her out and gave her some medicine and some treats before they sent her home.
Everything seemed okay but Poppy got worse the following day.
The poor dog’s condition was worsening by the minute, and there was a smell coming from the tongue that was completely off. When looking at the majority of her tongue, Poppy’s owners noticed that some pieces of it seemed completely dead.
Once again, they rushed Poppy to the clinic, and this time, it was clearly extremely urgent.
“Unfortunately, the red line gradually changed into bruising, the bruises then started to smell and formed white plaques on top, which eventually turned black, necrotic, and died off. Poor Poppy was left with two great big slits on either side of her tongue where the ball had been and was struggling to eat and drink because of this, so she was booked in for surgery with Sophie our Vet!” the clinic wrote on their Facebook page.
Luckily, the emergency surgery went quite well, and Poppy could finally drink and eat again.
All of the necrotic tissue was removed, and the rest of the dog’s tongue was stitched up, which allowed her to eat and drink relatively normally. Helen and James are very happy that the veterinary hospital was able to act quickly to treat the poor dog’s horrible condition.
“It was really traumatic for us all. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for looking after Poppy. She’s been so well-loved by everybody at the surgery and we couldn’t have asked for a more dedicated team. Well done to you all, Poppy sends sloppy kisses,” Helen said.
https://www.facebook.com/FoxhallVets/photos/3909057629136370
“We’ve all grown very attached to Poppy here at Foxhall and we will miss her daily visits,” the clinic added. “Poppy’s owners wanted us to share her story to highlight the dangers of leaving your dog unattended with toys, no matter how innocent they seem.”
Poppy’s owners now want to warn other pet owners to be wary of toys laying around the house.
You can check out Poppy’s story in the YouTube video below.
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