Another Greenies - Near Death

On Tuesday April 4, 2006 my 6 yr old Border Collie Meg became ill shortly after eating her dinner and was taken to the Veterinary Emergency Clinic. She was trembling, lethargic, disoriented, her eyes were dull, her gums were pale and her extremities were cold and clammy. By the time we got there she was dribbling urine and seemed to be straining. It appeared to me that she had ingested something toxic, although she had either been in my home or my van and had been supervised when in the park. I had not seen her eat anything outside, and we were interacting the whole time playing fetch. The clinic kept her overnight, put her on an i.v. and did some tests. By early the next morning she was looking better and at 7am the VEC released her to me with instructions to take her directly to my local vet and leave her there for observation. The lab tests had come back showing nothing remarkable. My own vet released her to me that afternoon and she seemed much better but tired. That evening, after her dinner, she started to tremble again, but it did not progress to where it had the previous night. Then she started barking. Lying on the bed initially, then pacing constantly barking non-stop. I could not shut her up. She then went down into the basement and appeared to be hiding. I called her back up and when I went down she had pooped there, which is unusual for her. The poop was a glutinous artificial green colour, with white mucous threaded through it. It finally hit me - I had given all my dogs a Greenie the afternoon before Meg got sick. I called the Vet Emergency Clinic and asked if this was a possibility and they responded that it certainly was, and they saw dogs regularly that had Gastro problems because of Greenies. I had not even bought them, they were giving them away by the bagful at the All About Pets Show, they asked me what type of dog I had (I had her with me) and this was what I was given by the Greenies vendor. This was the first time I'd given them to my dog. I spent $700 at the Vet Emergency because of a Greenie and spent a sleepless night thinking my dog might have organ failure.

I am not a happy camper. I feel that I am entitled to compensation for the vet bill. This dog happens to be a meticulous chewer, she carefully and thoroughly chews her kibble at meal times. She is not given to swallowing items whole or even in chunks. If I do not get a response, I am quite capable of picketing the Woofstock Festival and any other event that your product is being promoted at. While I am grateful that my dog appears to have no long term effects from this incident, a Google search shows that this is not always the case. I think that it is time to discontinue this product. No animal, not even a small percentage, should be put at risk by a treat.

Luan Egan - Toronto, ON Canada