A devastated mum says a game of fetch killed her beloved service dog.
Emma Meen, 47, was horrified when she received a call from her friend to tell her that her Fox Red Labrador Toby had collapsed after swallowing a tennis ball on 11 May.
Mum-of-three Emma, who suffers from inflammatory arthritis, rushed to the field where her friend had been walking him to find that she’d managed to remove the ball.
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But despite carrying out extensive CPR, Toby tragically passed away.
Emma, from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, said: "She threw the tennis balls like she always does, because they love chasing tennis balls.
"He had one in his mouth. She threw another one, he went to get it and pushed the one that was in his mouth down his throat.
"He was running around in a panic, he finally collapsed and she managed to get the ball out of his throat.
"I thought she was joking. It sounds stupid, but she said he was down, and I thought she meant he was lying down.
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"Then when she said she'd got the tennis ball out, I panicked. All the way over there, I was shouting, 'not Toby, not Toby'.
"He was lying on the floor, I started CPR and called my vet, and my vet said to just keep going.
"I was doing CPR on him and watching him go as I was doing it, it was so hard. Twenty minutes later, there were still no signs of life.
"It was devastating. It was like my whole world had come to an end, because he was so good with me and so hardworking. He was like a child.
"He helped pick things off the floor for me, empty the washing machine, and take the washing to the tumble dryer.
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"He loves everyone, everything. He was the best dog I've ever had, and we've had dogs all our lives."
Emma has now binned all tennis balls and is urging other dog owners to only buy balls that have holes in them so if they are accidentally swallowed the dog can still breathe.
"We've chucked all of our tennis balls out now,” she said.
"I see posts on Facebook where people are like 'oh, we're out with the ball today', and I'm just thinking, 'no, don't do it'.
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"Balls with holes in the middle prevent them from choking, they have quite big holes in them so they can breathe still.
"Make sure it's something that they can breathe if they swallow it. Rope toys get all knotted - they inhale the knot and they can't breathe.
"I want people to know the dangers of balls. If we'd have known, it wouldn't have happened and he would still be here."
Featured Image Credit: Kennedy News and Media