Hi--

I am writing to warn you about the 10 hoove package of "choobles" at 
PetSmart.

I have bought the individual hooves in the past with no problem at 
all--maybe because I know value when I see it and I always bought the 
ones that were heavy for their size.  In a package of 10, you really 
can't tell much about the weight.  When I took them out to give the 
treats to my dogs (all 8), the hooves seemed a little light, but I 
didn't figure that meant anything except maybe they wouldn't last as long.

This was Friday evening.  Saturday morning I heard a shriek from my 
Doberman.  Went running to him and found him with blood running out of 
his mouth and nose.  I thought he had injured his nose at first, because 
that's where the blood seemed to be coming from (and it was, but it was 
his SINUS!).  When we put a wadded kitchen towel into his mouth to see 
if there was something wrong inside, it came out all bloody.

Off to the vet, where he had a 2.5 cm by 1 cm (maybe bigger, but that's 
what I saw) laceration in the back of his mouth repaired under general 
anesthesia.  My vet loves me so the bill was ONLY $291.  The dog has 
been in agony since then and if I wasn't an RN with a few supplies and 
creativity, he would have stayed that way.  He is just barely eating 
again and always has a long thing of thick pinky mucus hanging from his 
mouth, no doubt draining from the injured sinus.

I figured it was a fluke, just one of those things, but I started 
picking up pieces of hoof from around the area of the house where the 
dogs hang out.  (We limit them.)  Good thing, because every one of the 
pieces I picked up was razor sharp!  I know dogs eat a lot of stuff and 
their stomach acids are great at dissolving practically anything it 
comes in contact with.  But not this.  We have been watching all the 
dogs pretty closely ever since.

This morning two more dogs are vomiting pinky mucus in large amounts and 
I picked out two pieces (so far) of the darned hooves.

So I called PetSmart (whose number was on the package--it gave a 
different name for the manufacturer, but it turns out it is in-house), 
and made a full report, asking for vet bills to be covered and the crap 
off the shelves.

PLEASE DON'T BUY THESE THINGS!  IN FACT, IF YOU ARE IN YOUR LOCAL 
PETSMART, PLEASE TELL THE MANAGER WHAT HAPPENED TO MY DOGS AND GIVE THEM 
A CHANCE TO GET THEM OFF THE SHELVES BEFORE SOMEONE ELSE'S ANIMAL IS SO 
HORRIBLY HURT.

Mind you, it is the prepackaged ones that are the problem, not the 
individual, pick your own, buy in bulk ones that are nice and heavy for 
their size.

Hopefully no one else's animal will go through what mine are.