An Auckland dog owner is disappointed a dog toy that left him with just over $4000 in vet bills is still on Kmart shelves.
Stephen Goument told Seven Sharp he bought a $5 two-handled tug toy for his dog, Touka, from a Kmart store last year.
During play with the toy, Touka ingested part of it, causing her to vomit pieces of it back up.
That wasn't the end of the ordeal, however, with Touka having to be rushed to the vet after continuing to vomit and becoming lethargic.
The vet discovered part of the tug toy had become lodged in her intestines and the bill to remove it cost Mr Goument $4000.
He then complained to Kmart over the toy and says they were initially receptive, saying they would remove the toy from shelves and asking for proof of his vet bills and receipts for the toy.
Mr Goument was heartened by the response and thought Kmart would reimburse him for the vet fees.
However, in June this year he received a letter stating that Kmart wasn't liable as the warning label on the product was sufficient.
The dog toy is also still available for purchase at Kmart.
"There's a huge difference between being liable and being real and caring about your customers," Mr Goument said.
"They need to get it out of the stores and get rid of this product wherever it's being sold."
The concerned pet owner is not alone in his crusade, as earlier this year a Brisbane vet also warned against the product.
"Last week two completely separate dogs (unrelated and unbeknownst to each other) came in on consecutive days to a local emergency centre both with an obstructed gastrointestinal tract," the vet posted on Facebook.
"The dogs were vomiting, not eating and 'very sick'.
"Both had a foreign body lodged in their upper intestine. Both required major abdominal surgery to remove the obstruction. In both cases it was a $5 Kmart dog chew toy.
"Warn everyone out there. They are brittle, and somehow break, and dogs think it's a good idea to swallow them."
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