A couple want to warn other pet owners about a bone from Home Bargains which they claim almost killed their dog.
Pippa Wilson, 26, and Sam Hossein, 37, rushed their dog Albas to the vets on Tuesday, March 15, after he started vomiting and suffering from bloody diarrhoea. Pippa said the corgi's illness came the day after he happily chomped his way through a ham-flavoured bone that she bought from Home Bargains on March 13.
The retail assistant is now urging owners to do their research before buying dog treats and wants the retailer to pull the bones from the shelves. Home Bargains said they were 'very sorry to hear of this unfortunate event', and were liaising closely with the manufacturer and the customer.
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Pippa, from Middlesbrough, said: "The day after I gave him the bone, he was so unwell with vomit and diarrhoea and blood coming out of his back end. We thought he had a sickness bug with so much going around.
"He was crying and was really poorly and we knew he wasn't right and my partner took him to work and he was vomiting and diarrhoea all over the shop. He was straining like he was trying to go to the toilet but nothing was coming out.
"That night he slept in the outhouse, he didn't want to come in the house I think because he knew he was making a mess everywhere. I told my partner there was something really wrong. We took him to the vet and we couldn't believe it, the bill was going higher and higher.
"The vet put her finger up his bum and said that the bone was there, inside him. It was very upsetting for the kids to see him like this, we thought we were going to lose him. We were taking photos of him thinking it was going to be the last time to get photos of him."
Dog Albas had an x-ray which confirmed that pieces of the bone had become stuck inside him, tearing his intestines and other internal organs.
Pippa said: "They x-rayed him and found there was a lot of bone and he was bleeding from inside. His intestines were bleeding. I was so shocked, I didn't take it in.
"My partner told me to tell them to operate. He didn't care about the money, he wanted him to be ok. We couldn't let anything happen to him."
Pippa and Sam, who have three children, said they were faced with a £1,300 vet bill to save the dog's life. The delicate operation involved putting Albas to sleep while the bone shards were carefully extracted from his bum.
Two weeks on from his ordeal, Albas is slowly recovering at home but Pippa said he isn't out of the woods yet due to the internal damage which has left him at risk of contracting a fatal infection called peritonitis.
Pippa said: "We had to syringe-feed him for days, food, water and he was on antibiotics. He's started to eat a little bit now. My partner has been sleeping downstairs with him. He's still bleeding and there's blood in his poo.
"He's not better and there's a high risk of infection due to the cuts from the bones inside. The vet has said if he gets it, it's fatal and there's nothing they can really do about it.
"I'm panicking that he could catch this infection. It's early days and we have to wait because he could pick up and get worse again. The bone is really dangerous."
Pippa shared the incident on Facebook to raise awareness of what's happened, with the post racking up more than 18,000 reactions.
Many have sympathised with the family's predicament, while others have suggested Albas was 'too small' for the bone.
Pippa said: "People have commented asking why I'd even given my dog the bone and saying it's really irresponsible but I had no idea that it could cause harm. If we'd known, we certainly wouldn't have given Albas the bone. When you trust the retailer and shop there often, you don't expect it.
"Some people have said Albas is small, why would I give him a bone? But he's not small, he weighs 19kilos. He's short but not small and his head is almost the size of a Shepherd. He's a very busy dog, he's a working breed.
"People have thanked me for sharing this because they've bought the bone for their dog and would have given it to them. It might not happen to every dog but there's a high risk and it's not worth it."
Pippa says she reported the incident to Home Bargains and hopes the company will reimburse her for the vet bill and take the bone off shelves.
Pippa said: "I'm hoping for them to reimburse the vet bills and get the bone taken off shelves but it doesn't seem likely.
"We've had to go through all of this due to the bone they're selling and it's cost us a lot of money."
A Home Bargains spokesman said: "We were very sorry to hear of this unfortunate event, and we are liaising closely with the manufacturer and the complainant."
