As dog owners, it’s important to make sure that the food and toys your dog plays with are safe.

Helen and James Hartley can testify to that.

Their poor pup Poppy’s tongue was almost taken off completely after it got stuck in a rubber ball dog toy.

Thankfully, the folks at Foxhall Veterinary Clinic were able to sew Poppy’s tongue back together.

Still, it was a pretty traumatizing event for Poppy and her parents.

It all started with Poppy playing with the ball. When Poppy’s parents got home from work, they realized that her tongue had gotten stuck in an air hole of the ball.

Poppy seemed to be her happy shiny self but she was acting a little bit strange.

So, they brought her to the vet.

“On arrival at Foxhall, the front half of Poppy’s tongue was very swollen, we could see a red line on her tongue where the ball had affected the blood flow,” the clinic wrote on their Facebook page.

“Apart from this, her tongue was pink and warm to touch and appeared otherwise normal. She was also happy to eat our treats, so was given some medication to help with the swelling and booked in for re-checks.”

Poppy’s parents brought her in every day over the next week so that they could keep an eye on Poppy’s tongue.

Eventually, the red line on Poppy’s tongue began to bruise.

It then became smelly and formed white plaques before turning black.

The necrotic parts of Poppy’s tongue then fell off, leaving the dog’s tongue hanging by a thin center piece with two big chunks missing on either side.

It was pretty freakin’ gross and Poppy was struggling to eat and drink.

But Poppy could be helped with a bit of surgery to remove the dead tissue and stitch her tongue together.

And Poppy did just great thanks to the skill and care of the vet staff!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10159707651758598&set=pb.507548597.-2207520000..&type=3

“The surgery was successful and our Nurses couldn’t believe it when Poppy ate and drank as soon as she woke up! We are happy to report that Poppy’s tongue has pretty much healed now, she is using her tongue normally to drink and can still give plenty of kisses!!”

https://www.facebook.com/FoxhallVets/photos/a.681433525232146/4912313725477417/

Foxhall Veterinary Clinic said they grew to love Poppy and will miss her daily visits,

They decided to share her story at the behest of Poppy’s parents who wanted to warn others about what happened to Poppy.

“It was really traumatic for us all. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for looking after Poppy,” Helen commented on the clinic’s Facebook page. “She’s been so well-loved by everybody at the surgery and we couldn’t have asked for a more dedicated team. Well done to you all, Poppy sends sloppy kisses!”

They didn’t say exactly what kind of ball the dog got her tongue stuck in but many others on Facebook relayed other mishaps they had with dogs who got their tongue stuck in weird places when they weren’t supervised.

Many expressed their gratitude for the heads-up.

“Thank you to the owners for making sure we can all see for ourselves what poor Poppy went through,” one Facebook commenter wrote. “Hope the little lady makes a full recovery, she looks a really happy little soul.”

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Source: PAWS NATION, Foxhall Veterinary Clinic, The Sun