Letter to the Editor

We recently lost our beautiful 13-month-old black lab, River. We were unaware of the dangers of letting our dog play, chew or retrieve sticks. We would like to warn other dog owners of the dangers and the potential harm that sticks can cause to your dog.

River loved to retrieve sticks. On an afternoon walk a few weeks ago, we threw a stick for him to fetch. He pounced on it with his usual enthusiasm. The stick flipped up and pierced his tongue. The stick struck an artery and our energetic young dog bled to death within 20 minutes.

We are heartbroken by the loss of River, and we would like to warn other dog owners of the dangers of letting their dogs play with or chew on sticks. We will never get our beautiful black lab back, however we hope that we can help others to avoid the heartbreak we have suffered with the loss of our young dog.

We are urging pet shops, canine facilities, veterinarians, dog owners and others to join us in getting the message out – Dogs and stix don’t mix!

Keith and Linda Powell,

Cranbrook

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