Dogs have been suffocating in snack bags at an alarming rate – Here’s what you should know
If you own a dog, then you know how they can quickly get themselves into a mess. Usually, it is as simple as getting stuck in a something around the house or making a large mess, but sometimes they can get themselves into a deadly situation with something as simple as a snack bag
The tales of dog suffocations are growing
The tales on social media about this problem are numerous. One such post on social media was from Patricia Polacco, whose daughter Traci lost her dog to a snack bag. In the post, Polacco recounts how her daughter had gone to pick something up at a friend’s house. While gone, her dog Wasabi had gotten a snack bag stuck on her head.
Even though she was gone for only 10 minutes, this tragic story just goes to show how quickly an incident like this can happen. And not just chip bags are a danger. Pet owners should also make sure to clean up any Ziploc or treat bags. Even yogurt containers pose a danger, as your pet’s snout can easily get stuck inside of them.
In another case, dog owner Shira Reese found her dog unresponsive when she went downstairs in her home. Around his neck was a Goldfish bag. Unresponsive and stiff, Reese had found her dog too late. Who knows how long he had been lying there until Reese found him?
Dogs are becoming trapped through no fault of their own
In many cases, the dogs are just following their basic instincts. Motivated by hunger, many dogs that find themselves in these deadly situations were simply looking for a snack. To prevent such a tragedy from happening to your pet, you should make sure to keep all bags and small containers put away out of your pet’s reach.
The creation of the ‘Prevent Pet Suffocation’ support group
For Bonnie Harlan of Houston was deeply affected by the loss of her dog to suffocation. The path of destruction her dog left as he died showed just horrendous of a way it was to go.
“He had knocked over lamps and tables and things like that before he finally suffocated,” Harlan said in a WUSA9 interview.
Her pet’s untimely and horrible death prompted Harlan to create the “Prevent Pet Suffocation” support group on Facebook. Here, owners of pets who had suffered death from suffocation could seek the support of others whose pets had suffered a similar fate.
What is causing pet suffocations?
The main contributing factor is the material Mylar, used in snack bags to better preserve the contents inside. Unfortunately, the material is so tough that dogs can’t chew through it to escape the death trap they have inadvertently found themselves in. But it is not just Mylar bags which are proving deadly.
“It wasn’t that he was so hungry, it’s that he got his face so deep in there and couldn’t breathe anymore. It just instantly knocked him out. It’s hard. It’s hard. I blamed myself,” said Debbie Smith, whose retriever Rocky choked on a bag without Mylar.
It can be something as simple as a tubular snack container or resealable food storage bag. Anything where a pet could find their head or snout trapped and their supply of air cut off. Check out this video with more on this alarming trend.
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