OT paper shredder warning

[doolittleky]

I received this in an email and couldn't even read the whole thing because it upset me but I wanted to pass it on


From another list ....

PLEASE CROSS POST

this one comes from a well respected Borzoi person,
and veterinarian, Elizabeth A Coney, DVM of Kentucky.

She wrote:
Now - for every one of you that has a home paper shredder with an
"auto on" feature, I want you to go turn it off and unplug the
paper shredder right now. Because night before last I was
presented with a paper shredder containing most of the tongue, ripped
out by the base, and a very pretty sweet 1 1/2 year old lab cross
whose owners euthanized her.

She always watched the paper go into the shredder, she thought it
fascinating. The "auto on" feature means the shredder sits there
waiting for something to get placed into it. Like an inquisitive
tongue.

I told them, "Dogs can do fine without a tongue, they have to learn to
drink and eat differently", but the owners didn't want to go there.
The look in her eyes said, "I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't supposed to
do that, it's all my fault". We all cried.

I cried when I read this, myself. In subsequent posts Beth says she has
learned that dogs who have lost more than half their tongues *don't* do
as well as she had been taught. According to the veterinary literature
it is also possible for animals to be injured other places than
tongues

- a Basset
lost an ear, a long-haired cat most of the skin on its side, a
kitten a foot, > etc.

She didn't mention any human injuries, but I can't imagine that a
toddler would be immune from either curiosity or injury.

I did read something about a toddler reaching into the shredder and losing 3 fingers from her hand..... Just about 2-3 weeks ago....


__._,_.___

[Craftlady]

This is just the reason I always UNPLUG my shredder when it's not in use.

[catmandu]

Its Always The Things That You Think That Can Never Ever Happen That Do.
Thanks For The Warning.

[sasvermont]

I shred my personal things at the office. I saw my silly kitties pawing at the opening some time ago, and figured it was a matter of time until one paw too many was put in the wrong spot at the wrong time. I live in fear of such things all the time. My cats have such "busy" paws - nothing is sacred. I put a pot lid on the stove tops when I remove a pot - I expect the most devilish behavior from them and often get it.

Thanks for the warning. I never thought about a dog. One could also turn off the "auto" feature, yes?

[zoey]

Thanks for the warning. I used to have one in my office. And my dog hangs out there sometimes. Thank God I never used that auto feature, (if it even had one), or I'd be freaking, thinking about that. I always turned mine on before i used it.

[jazzcat]

I never even thought of unplugging mine until we got Rocky and Rumor. They love to walk on top of it and step on the power button. I could just see a tail or some other body part going in so I started keeping it unplugged.

How sad.