“Devastated”: Aussie breeder's warning to dog owners after pup dies
A dog breeder is warning others to be vigilant and keep an eye on hand and foot warmers this winter due to a golden retriever dying after ingesting one.
The pup ingested an activated HotHands hand warmer earlier this week which had fallen out of a jacket pocket.
After moving away from the watchful eye of his family, the dog ate the entire pack.
The main ingredient in these hand warmers is iron powder, which can be extremely toxic and potentially lethal to household pets such as cats and dogs.
"He received urgent vet treatment, staying at the emergency vet overnight," the dog's breeder, Sharon Patterson, dog owner, explained on Facebook.
"He seemed to improve, the vet's thought maybe the iron hadn't been as potent as the hand warmer had been activated and it seemed he had been able to vomit up all the contents".
The dog ended up in intensive care after suffering organ damage and didn’t survive the night.
"His family are devastated and so are we," Patterson wrote. "This has been a huge warning to us I would not want to hear of this happening to anyone else".
There is a warning on the package saying to “keep out of reach of children and pets”, but there is no warning on the individual items.
"Please, if you use these types of air activated hand warmers that you make sure they are kept where your dog (or cat) can't reach them. Also, when you dispose of them make sure it's somewhere animals can't get to," Patterson pleaded.
"Personally, I don't think I'll have these in our house at all".