Don't throw sticks for your dog!

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Call me stupid, but tonight I was playing fetch the stick with the dog and she impaled herself through the mouth on the stick. Now she's at the vet's having surgery. Apparently it went all the way through her soft-palate and perforated the back of her pharynx.

Not only do I now have a > $400 vet bill that I really can't afford but the poor dog is going to be in pain for a couple of weeks and there's still the chance of infection and other complications. And this comes on top of my cat getting hit by a car and dying last week. Apparently the stick thing is a fairly common injury.

Please learn from my doggy's pain and don't throw sticks for you dog!

― toraneko (toraneko), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:21 (twenty-three years ago)

Actually, what makes it worse is that it's really my brother's doggy AND I broke her toe a couple of weeks ago be treading on her.

― toraneko (toraneko), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:22 (twenty-three years ago)

Good grief, Toraneko! :-( That's all horrible and a half (and we've had far too much cat grief on this board this month too). Hope yer beastie heals up well.

We found back in New York when we got our puppy Suzy that the best solution -- thanks to the local garage just down the back alley -- was not to throw sticks, but old car radiator tubes. They bounce, they're rubbery and there's no chance of impalement or similar sadness. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanks for your sympathy Ned. I will be showering the dog with safe toys on her return.

― toraneko (toraneko), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

sad to hear it. hope your dog gets well.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Thanks Julio.

― toraneko (toraneko), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:39 (twenty-three years ago)

I hope your dog gets well soon.

what type of dog is she?

― DV (dirtyvicar), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:44 (twenty-three years ago)

that's awful. I hope she gets well soon.

I second rubbery toys and of course tennis balls. Have you seen those Jai-ali (sp?) things that really hurl them?

― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 24 October 2002 15:52 (twenty-three years ago)

I nearly impaled myself with a knitting needle once.

― Paula (pwatson), Thursday, 24 October 2002 16:29 (twenty-three years ago)

very sorry to hear about your brothers dogs' injury toraneko, i hope she recovers quickly and isnt in too much pain. give her lots of pats and hugs from me ( i love dogs ).
and yes rubbery type toys are much better than sticks.

― donna (donna), Thursday, 24 October 2002 16:43 (twenty-three years ago)

sorry about the doggy. we use a rope for our little mutt.

― Chris V. (Chris V), Thursday, 24 October 2002 17:31 (twenty-three years ago)

poor doggy. My dog finds twigs on her own and gnaws on them. I'll try to keep her away from the hawthorn.

― felicity (felicity), Thursday, 24 October 2002 18:24 (twenty-three years ago)

Awww Toraneko! I hope your dog gets well again soon. What's his/her name?

I don't throw sticks for my dog, and he chews up rubber/plastic toys and tennis balls in seconds. A more destructive animal I have never met! I use a stuffed canvas 'dummy' - it's about 12" long and about 3" diameter - which he has had since he was a puppy for all his Hunt/Point/Retrieve training.

― C J (C J), Thursday, 24 October 2002 18:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Bad luck, Toraneko. I hope it heals quickly.

Did you name your puppy Suzy before or after you knew the Suzy here, Ned? Just wondering.

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Thursday, 24 October 2002 19:27 (twenty-three years ago)

*chuckle* No, not the one here! This was back in 1984, when I was 13 and knew nothing of art school discos. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 24 October 2002 19:50 (twenty-three years ago)

Her name is Lucy and she is a cross between a staffie and a Lassie, she's a long haired brindle with cute ears. She's a bit happier now and should get better okay so long as no infection occurs. Poor doggy.

Apparently in summer they get two or three of these injuries a week at the Vet I went too. Often the stick has gone further down or has gone up through the roof of the mouth and the dog dies. Lucy is really strong though so she she'll pull through all right. She'll just have to slow down for a while.

― toraneko (toraneko), Friday, 25 October 2002 09:51 (twenty-three years ago)

Aw, I'm really sorry to hear that Toraneko. I'm glad she's starting to feel a little bit better now!

― Nicole (Nicole), Friday, 25 October 2002 11:20 (twenty-three years ago)

woah poor dog! That sucks! and sorry to hear about your cat! :(

my dog occasionally does a bit silly and starts chewing sticks, and when he was younger he ate a cactus.

― jel -- (jel), Friday, 25 October 2002 11:26 (twenty-three years ago)

one year passes...

my dog died too not too long ago of a snake bite stupid snake bite she was right a bout to be 7 she was a loyal black Lab

― mr k, Wednesday, 25 February 2004 19:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Ack, sorry to hear that. :-(

This thread revival makes me wonder how Toraneko is doing. :-)

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 25 February 2004 19:49 (twenty-two years ago)

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