By: Haden Pittillo
Did you know it only takes a matter of seconds for your dog to suffocate? I was a proud Mom to my Bella, a 4 year old black lab mix. She was my companion, my life, and my guardian. A few weeks ago I left for work one morning and kissed Bella goodbye just like any other workday. A few hours later I returned home to let Bella outside. When she did not greet me at the door, I immediately knew something was terribly wrong. Out of the corner of my eye she was laying on my bedroom floor with a Lay’s chip bag over her head. I immediately ripped the bag off of her head and began CPR. After rushing her to the vet, they pronounced Bella DOA.
It was easy to blame myself for leaving the chip bag with crumbs in the bottom of my pool bag from the weekend and to wonder all the “what if’s”. However, after a little research I quickly discovered pets are suffocating daily from the same cause.
The problem is many of these bags are made out of a balloon type material. When a curious dog puts his head into the bag for the crumbs, the bag creates a seal around the dogs neck and cuts off the flow of oxygen. The dog then starts to panic until he collapses from asphyxiation.
What can you do to help?
– tie all bags into a knot or cut the bottom out (including chip bags, cereal liners, cat/dog food bags, plastic zip lock bags, etc.)
– help to spread the word of to friends and family and increase pet suffocation awareness
Please visit the following sites for more information about pet suffocation:
http://preventpetsuffocation.com/Information.html
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/11/13/snack-bags-potentially-deadly-to-your-pet-vet-warns/