Toys – dobermannpinscher.org

Four Paws Response to my E-mail

Here are the responses to my e-mails to Four-Paws regarding Chai’s story.

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Thank you for your recent note expressing concern over the Four Paws® Pimple Ball with Bell. We were equally alarmed to learn that a dog may have injured himself while playing with this toy.

Dogs have been enjoying the Pimple Ball with Bell for more than a decade with over 500,000 units sold. In all the years this product has been on the market, this is the first injury of this nature that we are aware of. Unfortunately, accidents sometimes happen. That’s why we recommend that dogs always be supervised when they are playing with any toy. We take great care in developing safe products for pets and their owners.

At this point we have identified the problem and are not shipping any more Pimple Balls. We have contacted customers that carry this product and have asked them to immediately return their inventory.

Thank you for your concern and feedback. Please know that we are in direct communication with the pet owner whose dog was injured. At Four Paws, happy pets and satisfied pet owners are our number one priority. Rest assured we will continue to work hard to deliver on our priority.

Sincerely,

Allen Simon
President, CEO
Four Paws Products
Sent by Haley Birk on behalf of Allen Simon
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Dear Helen,

Yes, you have our permission to forward our response. Please understand that we are doing everything in our power to remedy this situation. Unfortunately in order to get the word out as quickly as possible we have no choice but to send out a standard reply to all the emails we are receiving. By the way, if you go to the home page of our website, you will see that we have added a notice in red that reads “Pimple Ball with Bell – Please click here for important safety information”

Please see the link below:

www.fourpaws.com

Again, we appreciate your feedback and are doing everything in our power to remedy this unfortunate incident.

Sincerely,

Haley Birk
Office Manager

News, Toys

29

Aug

2008

Chai and Four Paws

Helen

Please take a few minutes to click on this link and read the blog entry about Chai and the Four Paws’ Pimple Ball with Bell that absolutely needs to be taken off the market. Because of the response Four Paws has given the owner of Chai, I have little interest in purchasing any of their products ever. Please read to the end of the Chai blog entry and take a few moments to write to the company as the blogger requested.

I did:

Mr. Allen Simon,

I read the blog entry about a dog who’s lost its tongue because of the pimple ball Four Paws manufacturers and distributes. That you and the company have not removed this product from shelves and discontinued making it is despicable. I will boycott Four Paws until this horrible product – pimple ball with bell – is removed from shelves and you have stopped producing it. Have you no conscious?

I’m forwarding this story to everyone I know and also posting a link to it from my blog.

Helen Verte

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Every dog should have a tail AND A TONGUE!
www.dobermannpinscher.org

News, Toys

20

Aug

2008

Fay’s on Our Minds

Helen

Our Kongs arrived last week! Annie checked them out. Raven and Luigi had a dispute over who should touch them first. Neither won. I touched them first. I was going to stuff them all this weekend, but being there is the possibility of a Hurricane Fay, I had other things to get done.

I had to take down a tree that was around 15 feet tall. It was in a bucket, and the roots dug into the ground. I had intended on tipping it over and easing it out of the ground to replant; however, that’s not what happened.

What happened was when I tipped it over it did exactly what I was trying to avoid by taking it out of the ground before the hurricane got it. It got tangled up in the phone and electric lines to the house. Now this was not a pleasant experience for me. I had to pull the ladder over and take out the tree limb clippers and get up there on the ladder with that tree cutting thing to cut the tree out. I kept thinking, “Please don’t let me die by getting shocked.”

Well, my mantra paid off, and I didn’t get a shock, but I did realize that I couldn’t cut the roots out of the ground with my bread knife, nor a steak knife. I was lead to the shed where the electric saw was. I’d never used it, and hoped to God I didn’t have to go through an hour-long reading of directions as I did a few weeks ago with that other electric saw that I ended up not using. I just wanted to separate that tree from the roots. Period.

I opened the box, and there were ants in there and a direction booklet that started in Spanish. That annoyed me. If it’s sold in Lowe’s here in Florida, English should be first. Whatever. I paged over and found the English part, then threw it off and decided to go for it without instructions. It was hot and humid and I was getting cranky. After I set everything up, I figured out how to start the thing and shizaam! I separated that tree from the roots, and then cut it up into sections to throw away. There was no way I could dig a hole for that tree as big as it was and haul it around. Just not gonna happen. So I said sianara.

During the process, I found a basketball dog toy, which Ginger quickly claimed though both Luigi and Ollie thought it should be theirs. Wrong! It’s all hers!

Speaking of toys, somehow, Bunny Butt Taylor got Raven’s toy around her neck this morning and was wearing it around like a necklace. I noticed it when I was delivering breakfasts. She’s a peach, that Bunny Butt!

Dinner time.

Helen

Ginger, Luigi, Ollie, Sky, Toys, Trees and Plants

17

Aug

2008

Kong Toy Cleaner by Bamboo

Helen

Well, lookie here.

There is finally a cleaning brush made specifically for Kongs!

Jingle Bell Tire Ball

Helen

We got a new toy over the weekend. Many Fort Doberdalians like to play with balls, and this one looked sturdy. The big bell securely inside provides noise, and as a secondary feature, repels unwanted spiritual intruders. The texture is appealing, and there is no noxious smell. Yes, I sniffed it a good one. I gave up $5 and tax to the cashier, and brought it back to Fort Doberdale for the real test. Would anyone play with it?

Scroll over the pictures for captions. Click to see pictures bigger.

Taylor took the plunge and was the first to hold the new ball in the beak. It takes an Aussie to get things moving along. Shortly thereafter, big Luigi got into the action, and took ahold of the new toy.

Soon we were playing catch and games with the new ball. Luigi was gaga over the ball, and Lilian continued to eye ball the situation from behind the scenes.

Taylor says she prefers the yeller Cuz Ball, thank you very much. Regis does, too. Actually, Regis will grab any toy I’m throwing. Hence the reason I have a pair of fang marks on my arm. He opened his jaw and lunged to grab the ball as I was throwing it. Even the elderly can be rascally.

Amen!