Although there has not yet been an official press release by either Four Paws Products or the CPSC regarding this dog toy, we suspect it will soon be recalled for reasons discussed below. In the meantime, we would urge dog owners to check their pets’ toys and remove this item if your pet has access to it.
The “Pimple Ball” dog toy does not have a hole in it to release vacuum pressure formed inside the ball. This can become dangerous when dogs chew through the rubber, creating a hole large enough for their tongue, which can then get sucked into the ball.
Thanks to the work of Chai’s owner in creating The Chai Story Blog, thousands of Americans were made aware of the dangers, which may have caused Four Paws Products to take this dog toy off the market, as it is no longer available on their website. After posting Chai’s story, the blog’s author began to receive reports from others who have experienced similar circumstances, including a french bulldog named Petunia, who’s owners explained “the same thing happened twice in one night with a smaller version of the same ball.” Fortunately, they were able to pull it off before the tongue swelled, but not without tremendous effort and pain to the dog. They recalled how horrific it was to hear their beloved pet screaming while they had to pry the ball from her tongue.
Chai’s tongue had to be amputated (more on his unfortunate situation below) after it became stuck inside the ball and his owner was unable to pull it out.
The ball is called “pimple ball with bell” and is Item #20227-001 with UPC Code 0 4566320227 9.
(This is video of Chai showing the pain level that he had for the first three days despite being on heavy doses of pain medication)
(A very sad video of Chai’s caretakers trying to get him to drink water after having his tonge amputated.)
Who knows how much longer these toys would continue being sold if Chai’s caretaker had not been able to bring his story to the internet.
I do have one question regarding the issue of including holes for vacuum pressure release. What happens if the dog chews a wider hole over top of the one that was put in by the dog toy makers? Wouldn’t it then be exposed to the same danger – that of a vacuum with no pressure release – if the dog were to stick its tongue into that hole?
I would argue that there should be two holes, each on opposite sites of the ball. That way there would be no way for a vacuum to form.
Wow, that’s horrible. I couldn’t even bring myself to watch those videos, but I’ll be sure to always look out for toys like this when I purchase them for my dog.
Sorry, I don’t think Chai is a dog to be pitied. Is it a shame he had to suffer the consequences of an toy that had not been adequately researched…absolutely. Would I want any of my dogs to suffer that consequence? Absolutely not. However, Chai does not feel sorry for himself. He is simply learning to cope with what life has dealt him.
I work at and Emergency and Critical Care facility as a credentialed veterinary technician. I have taught a “bait” dog we named Bones (used to teach pit bulls to kill other dog) to eat and drink without a tongue and he had NO ONE to care about him but myself and other techs at the hospital and later the shelter. Bones never felt sorry for himself. Nor does Chai. We, as humans, need to learn the lesson.
Get on with it. Do what you need to, and go forward. Bones did it, Chai did it. We need to be able to do it.
Judi
PS To Chai’s owners: YAY for you. You didn’t give up on Chai. And, now you have your dog back to love and play with. GOOD FOR YOU! Chai will never give up on you! I guarantee that!
Hi without sounding insensitive to your story I only wish my dog was still around my beautiful loyal 18month boxer died after chewing and swallowing a piece of the pimple ball which I bought from the dollar store, I know I should of known better , however I read the label and it read QUALITY pet products not only are the selling crap they are advertising that it is a quality toy . I just don’t know what to do it is always on my mind I miss my Ringo so badly , I t costed me 1,600 dollars trying to save him and I wish I had the means to save other pets this is why I’m writing as many sights to warn others of this cheap version of the pimple ball .
I have time on my hands and would love to get these balls off the shelves can anyone direct me feeling a little lost going against this giant dollarama .