'A £12 dog toy bought from Amazon killed my dog'
After losing her cane corso, Antonia Speariett wants to warn other dog owners about rope tug toys.
'A £12 dog toy bought from Amazon killed my dog'
Cane, a five-year-old cane corso, died after swallowing part of a rope dog toy
A devastated dog owner whose pet died after ingesting part of a tug toy has warned others about the risks they can present.
Antonia Speariett, from Coppull in Lancashire, spoke to the BBC after her five-year-old cane corso Cane died from an intestinal blockage caused by swallowing part of a toy she had bought online.
"A £12 dog toy bought from Amazon killed my dog," said the 31-year-old. "Nothing prepared me for this heartbreak. If you are a dog owner who has rope dog toys - throw them out. It is not worth it."
An Amazon spokesperson said: "We were very sorry to hear about this. We are in touch with the customer."
Antonia said Cane had been her "protector"
Antonia said she had owned Cane since he was a puppy.
"Cane was always there, like he was my protector," she said.
"Even at five years old he was like a puppy almost - so full of life."
Antonia said she realised something was wrong with him on 7 October when her 95kg (15st) pet did not eat his dinner.
"He started being a bit funny within himself," she said.
"We had been playing 'tug of war' with him holding onto a rope toy, pulling it back and forth.
"We stopped playing and he then would not eat his tea."
When Cane again refused food the next day, Antonia took him to the vet.
Cane was diagnosed with an intestinal blockage and needed emergency surgery.
Antonia said Cane died aged five years, five months and five days
Antonia said she suspected the rope toy could be responsible and her worst fears were soon confirmed.
"The vet called us and said they had opened him up and were looking at the rope toy," Antonia said.
"It had anchored in his stomach and was in his intestines - wrapped around like cheese wire.
"The vet said the rope had cut off blood supply to Cane's intestines and they had gone a black and dark purple colour.
"We were told the blood supply wasn't returning.
"There was no way of saving him.
"I broke down and was begging the vet 'is there anything that can be done to save him'," Antonia said.
"But there wasn't. We had 15 minutes to get back to the vets to say goodbye."
In just two days, Antonia said she had gone from having a young "full of life" dog to saying goodbye to her beloved Cane.
Antonia said she wanted to raise awareness of the possible dangers of rope dog toys so no owner has to go through what she has.
"Cane was not a small dog," she explained. "He was 5ft 2in and he was a unit.
"I felt like I had let him down."
Since sharing Cane's story on social media, Antonia said she had found many other dog owners with similar experiences.
"The amount of people that have come forward and said this happened to our dog - there are so many," she said.
"These toys are clearly dangerous.
"And it is not just one brand or seller."
Antonia has started a petition calling for further legislation surrounding the safety of dog toys.
She added: "I decided I needed to do something for Cane so this doesn't happen again."