Paint
Balls I have a dog
safety warning I'd like to pass along from a personal experience two
days ago. If you participate in the sport of paint ball, or have any
family members who do, be sure to store your paint balls in a secure
place.
I had to find
out the hard way from Poison Control that the shells of paint balls are
made of, or with, pigskin of all things. Need I say more? Other than
the safe handling of the paintballs in the game itself, the only health
warning on the box said- 'Do not ingest.' No 'ingredients' or pet
attraction warnings at all.
Boomerang, my
one year-old German Shepherd puppy dug his way through my son's paint
ball gear to get at a box of paint balls. My sons normally purchase a
brand that comes in a relatively safe heavy plastic lockable 'ammo can'
type container, but the store was out of those and this brand came in a
simple cardboard box.
I am neither a
vet nor a vet tech, so hopefully what I relate to you that was told to
me by Posion Control will be relayed accurately. Please consult your
vet for totally accurate information if you have paint balls in your
house. That said, PC told us that the paint is not caustic, nor
severely toxic in an of itself, but it draws fluids from the system
causing a large electrolyte imbalance and greatly increases sodium
level requiring the animal to be given intravenous fluids on an
emergency basis. Boomer did begin to have small seizures as we left for
the clinic.
PC also said
that dogs ingesting paint balls is a fairly common occurrence.
Thankfully, dogs have survived eating almost an entire box of paint
balls, which Boomer did. However the condition must be treated
immediately on an emergency basis. It cannot be ignored.
Something else
to keep in mind. There was no visible evidence he had eaten any except
for the noticeably missing paint balls. He may have swallowed the paint
balls whole, but if he didn't, there was no paint on the floor, in his
mouth or anywhere and no smell on his breath.
As Boomer's
owner, of course I take full responsibility for not having my eye on
him for even that short time as I was busy at my desk. I also don't
think anyone with a dog or puppy would leave paint balls lying around
out in the open anyway. We didn't and wouldn't either, but I did not
realize they are made of a material that would actually attract dogs
where 'out of sight' isn't good enough. It's a mistake I won't make
again, that's for sure and I'm thankful to have a second chance! Sorry
if I sound defensive, but I do try to keep our house pet safe.
Anyway, I do
think this warning is well worth passing along in light of PC's
statistic that this happens fairly often. Indeed, it took only seconds
for them to give me the information as if it was fresh in their minds.
Boomer seems
back to his normal self, and should be able to go back to work in a day
or so.
