Dog gets tongue caught in shredder

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

January 30, 2007 -- A local dog got its tongue caught in a paper shredder; he underwent surgery and is recovering tonight.

They say every dog has its day, and one local pooch had one heck of a day. This is truly an amazing story and one that is playing out more often around the country because more and more people have paper shredders at home.

Riley is a 7-month-old mutt who got himself in a real jam this weekend.

Riley's owner Dorothy Itle says, "He was hovering over the shredder and I kept trying to push him away and he stuck his tongue out. I still shudder just thinking about it"

Dorothy rushed Riley to the animal ER in West Toledo. "I knew it had to be serious the way he yelped. All I could think of is that I have to get him to the hospital as quickly as possible."

Animal Emergency and Critical Care Dr. Kittsen McCumber says, "The shredder makes noise, the dog goes to check it out, he sniffs it and licks it, and his tongue starts feeding through the shredder."

Riley underwent a complex surgery. Amazingly Riley was eating and drinking just eight hours after surgery.

Since it is an emergency clinic, vets there see all kinds of trauma at all hours of the day and night, but they say this is one of the most unusual cases they have ever treated

As for Riley, he went home the day after his surgery and he's been lapping up lots of special treatment since then. Riley will have to go in for check-ups in the coming months to make sure his tongue continues to heal.

Many people have said they never would have thought of a shredder causing problems for their pets. To make sure this doesn't happen to you, always turn off your shredder and never leave it in the automatic mode.

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