GREENIE Alert

GREENIE ALERT

This is a true story. There is a number of poor little Nickey's vet at the bottom of this article.

6/9/05: My little dog, Nickey, a 6 month old Maltese,

has survived two surgeries this week and is now stable

and recovering at the Vet hospital. After exploration,

they found part of a "greenie" bone stuck in his

Esophagus.

The vets I spoke to this week are furious about this

product. The product DOES NOT DISSOLVE if swallowed in

chunks that cannot pass through their system. They

have done numerous surgeries to remove them,

Especially from the intestines. This is the first that

the Dallas surgeons have seen in the esophagus.

I wanted to share this with you and ask you to pass

along this warning to any pet owner that you know and

to keep it passing on. BAN THE GREENIES!! I know my

little one will never see another greenie again.

After almost $5000 in vet bills since last Friday,R>this has been a very expensive lesson to learn. The

worst part of course is that my little Nickey (only 6

months old) has suffered tremendously and will most

likely develop other esophagus problems because of

this.

He is not 'out-of-the-woods' yet so I ask that you say

a prayer for him. This has been an extremely emotional

week for him and for his Mommy.

I'm hoping to get this word out -- not to damage any

one in particular -- but to prevent other pets and

families from having to go thru this trauma. Deronda

Elstrod

Greenie Bone Warning -- Update on Nickey

6/10/05: Update on Nickey... he passed away about 1:30

this morning. Many of you have asked more information

and have said you would contact your vet -- please do

-- Please do not let Nickey's death be for nothing.

Word needs to get out that this 'greenie' product is

not safe!! It may be good for the teeth & gums but it

can be fatal as we all know now. Someone stated something about the warnings -- I did not see that --

I bought individual ones from a jar at the pet store.

I also let him have them under supervision but when

they are very slippery and it slips down their throat,

I don't know what else I could have done. I like the

thought of holding onto them but how could I have

known?

As you might imagine, I am going through a tremendous

amount of guilt about ever giving these to my dog. He

has only had 2 whole ones. I wish I could take back

one week!!

If your vet would like more information, my vet is a

specialist at the Animal Diagnostic Clinic Hospital

(Brad Hines, DMV Diplomat) here in Dallas. The address

is 4444 Trinity Mills Ste 202, Dallas, TX 75287. The

phone number is 972-267-8300.

He has removed several 'greenie' parts from dogs but

from the intestines; this is the first he has seen in

the esophagus -- which could become common for very

small dogs. This is also the first death he has

encunered as a result. I think large dogs are at

risk also because they make very large sizes for them.

They get very slippery while they are chewing on them

and any movement can make them lose control and

swallow it. According to the vets, they DO NOT

dissolve in the body.

I will be contacting the Greenie company to tell them

of what happened. My surgeon and vets are writing

papers to submit to the Vet associations.