Today’s blog is a special warning about pet toys, particularly one marketed for dogs. The lines of toys are made by MULTIPET INTERNATIONAL and are called “Look Who's Talking.” The ad on their web site reads that it is “More than your run of the mill plush toys, these cuties talk when your pet squeezes them.”
My Malti-Poo, Gidget, loves the small plush monkey toy that makes the sound of a monkey shouting in the jungle. Over time, she takes the stuffing out of her toys until she gets to the source of the sound. I am often very quick to clean it up, pull out whatever squeeker is inside and toss the toy in the garbage.
Over the past few days, I found two small watch batteries on the rug. I thought maybe it came out of something of mine. However, further investigation proved otherwise, when I pulled out a small square battery pack with an open back and one battery left in it inside the monkey! (The two I found, fit back into it like a puzzle.)
As we all know, dogs and children often mingle happily together in families, and so it’s not unusual for a baby to be crawling on the same floor as the family pet. This only doubled my concern. I had flashes of a dog not as discerning as my Gidget, swallowing one of those! Or a baby playing and finding it, and putting it into his/her mouth, as babies are prone to doing, and swallowing it!
We immediately called the company and a “customer service” rep calmly stated that “there is a cover on the battery pack” (as if was acceptable to have a battery pack like that in a toy in the first place!). We explained that this toy did not have one, and the thought of a dog or child swallowing a battery, and the ensuing complications was frightening, and could lead to a lawsuit. She repeated her mantra about battery pack covers, and then offered to send the same toy! I did not want the same dangerous toy. I wanted a safer one.
We were at a stalemate, so she ended the call for me by saying she was going to “talk to another manager and get back to you.” Right. It does not take a psychic to know that what she is really saying is that she has no intention of doing a thing.
The monkey is not the only toy in the line, but they all contain small battery packs made of plastic that contain at least 3 watch-sized batteries and, cover missing or not, these batteries should not be in a toy! My next call was to the Channel 7 News team to investigate this before something horrible happens…and hopefully, no animal or child has been hurt, yet.
MULTIPET INTERNATIONAL
265 W. Commercial Avenue
Moonachie, New Jersey 07074
Toll Free: (800) 900-MPET
Phone: (201) 438-6600 Fax: (201) 438-2990
Email: info@multipet.com
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