Sam's absolute favorite toy is his ducky but a close second goes to the tennis ball, whiffle ball or whatever type of ball happens to be flung in his direction. News from Dayton, Ohio, however, of the recent demise of a police dog after choking on a tennis ball, has made me take inventory of Sam's collection.
The 6 year old Belgian Malinois named Badger died when the ball became lodged in her throat. Her handler was with her and rushed her to the vet, who was able to remove the tennis ball but unable to revive the dog.
The vet explained that the rubber ball had collapsed when the dog bit down on it and then expanded in her throat.
Moral of the story? Perhaps tennis balls are not the best choice of balls for big jawed, heavy biters. A larger whiffle ball that couldn't get caught in her throat might have been a better choice, but either way, the situation is so tragic.
And forget about those tricks of having a dog carry three or more balls in his/her mouth. Stick with large, hard rubber balls for your games and make sure you can always see the ball when the dogs retrieves it.
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