Dog Poisoned By Nerf Ball: Real or Hoax?

A Facebook message claims that a dog died after putting a Nerf football in its mouth, and warns that the ball may have contained poison. It has been confirmed by Pet360 and another dog owner in the area that the dog, Jake, did die. There is no concrete evidence to prove that the dog was poisoned by the toy ball, but the owner has speculated this to be the case.

Nerf Ball Death

Let’s first take a look at the message circulating in August 2013:

Last night my sister’s dog, Jake, was at the community dog park. He was playing and running and having a blast. He picked up a Nerf football that was just laying around. He immediately dropped it and shook his head. He got a drink and played a bit longer. Then all of a sudden he wanted to go home. When he got home a few moments later, he laid down and in minutes he was dead. This was a wonderful, healthy 4-yr old Golden Retriever mix. Apparently someone didn’t like the dog park and had left the ball full of poison. So NEVER, NEVER, NEVER LET YOUR DOG PICK UP ANYTHING THAT HE DIDN’T BRING WITH HIM! Any toys abandoned should immediately be put in the trash! This was a horrible loss and my sister is devastated! I doubt they will ever know who did this, but don’t be the next victim. Spread the word–SAVE A LIFE!

Pet360 verified with the dog’s owner that the dog did pass away shortly after visiting a dog park.

“After they got to the park, Jake picked up a small plastic coated pink football, brought it toward her, spit it out and was foaming at the mouth,” the owner told Pet360. The article also posted the opinion of a veterinarian regarding the dog’s death:

Keith Niesenbaum, a veterinarian who owns three veterinary clinics in New York, including Farmingdale Dog and Cat Hospital in Farmingdale, N.Y. says without a necropsy on Jake, assuming cause of death is pure speculation.

“There’s no hard evidence of poisoning,” says Niesenbaum who says he couldn’t think of many poisons that would work that quickly. Niesenbaum says any number of things could have killed Jake suddenly, including a bee sting or a genetic defect unknown to Jake’s mom and veterinarian.

Neighbor Speaks Out

We were contacted by another dog owner who claims to have been at the park on the day of the incident. He told us that his dog also played with the pink ball in question, and had no ill effects. The neighbor expressed concern that the park’s reputation may suffer due to unconfirmed accusations.

The day of the event, my 1 year old pup was in the park at the same time, and actually played with the same small pink stuffed football toy that supposedly killed Jake, however, after Jake had already played with it. My dog has had no illness or symptoms, and no further incidents have been reported.

When they put in this park, they dug large holes to put fence posts in that drudged up a lot of old dirt, large batches of glass and who knows what else that may have gotten on the toy, or Jake may have ingested.

In my opinion, and until further evidence comes to light, I believe this is many residents latching onto the notions of an upset individual, and accepting it as fact. Residents are now afraid of using this great little park that may be completely unrelated to Jake’s death, and have the notion a person is poisoning pets intentionally with no cause or proof, and that’s disheartening.

Bottom Line

Without a necropsy, there is no way to know with complete certainty what killed Jake.

Source

• Is the Story on the Internet of a Dog Dying of a Poisoned Nerf Ball True? (Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell, Pet360: August 20, 2013)

Article updated August 25, 2013