Bala couple's puppy died after playing with Amazon chew toy

The seven-week-old dog - named Miss Red Collar - was rushed to the vets after chewing on the product, which has since been removed.

An operation was carried out to remove the toy from the pup's stomach but, sadly, it could not be saved.

Two other puppies had symptoms and needed operations - which they survived.

Gulin Milne with some of the puppies. Image: SWNS

Steven Pooley, 58, and partner Gulin Milne, 52, say they feel "dreadful" following the death - and have to pay around £4,000 for the surgery and checking of the other dogs.

Steven said: "It's absolutely dreadful. I'm utterly devastated.

"We had been raising these puppies for nearly eight weeks, in our home and all around us. We became very attached to them.

"We've loved and nurtured them through every moment of each day. This is absolutely horrible.

"I just want to warn others so they don't buy them and put their pets at risk.

"It's the green bone and the pink heart that broke apart.

"The toys weren't chew proof at all. The puppies bit them into pieces and ingested them.

"There were no bits lying around so we just thought the toys were lost."

The Alaskan malamutes puppies. Image: SWNS

Steven and Gulin, from Bala, had helped their Alaskan malamutes Nala, two, and Bryn, six, raise ten pups.

Steven Pooley with some of the puppies. Image: SWNS

The litter was around seven weeks old when they gave the dogs a pack of chew toys on February 10.

And, by that evening, two chews were missing.

Steven then noticed that Miss Red Collar had not eaten lunch or dinner on February 11.

She was sick six times in the evening and the last bout smelled of faeces, Steven said.

After Googling he suspected she had a blockage in her gut and rushed her to the emergency vet.

But although they removed all four lumps of rubber from her intestine and rehydrated her the dog died while in recovery from the op.

Scar on one of the puppies. Image: SWNS

A second pup, Mr Grey Collar, got sick and had an operation on February 16.

And a third, Mr Brown Collar, went under the knife on February 18.

Both survived, and all the other puppies had to be checked over.

Steven and Gulin own holiday cottages and are not breeders; the pregnancy happened by accident.

But Steven said the puppies can fetch up to £1,000 each.

He said: "They don't know if she was in shock or she was just too weakened by the whole episode to survive the operation.

"It's not about the money at all - we're so fond of them. I'm just so horrified that these toys broke apart like that.

"It wasn't until the vet sent the specimen pot that we realised what had caused the blockage - we'd been wracked with guilt wondering what we'd left lying around.

"We never imagined the puppy teething toys could cause this harm. I could hardly believe it.

"We'd already found a home for this puppy and we had to phone and tell them - it was absolutely heartbreaking."

Plastic found in the dogs. Image: SWNS

Steven phoned and emailed Amazon who said they were sorry for the loss and would be investigating the incident.

He said: "I just want pet owners to be aware. We're physically and mentally exhausted.

"This is not just because of what we're going through but because of our real fear that other owners and pups will be going through the same trauma and potentially death.

"We feel we should be compensated for this, but we don't want to profit from it so we plan to donate any compensation to charity we know called Sally's Helpful Paws."

Amazon said: “Customer safety is a top priority and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations and Amazon policies.

“We ensure our selection meets industry-accepted standards, and we develop innovative tools to prevent unsafe products from being listed.

“The product in question has been removed while we investigate.”