23/04/2025
Chip bags kill. This isn't a rare thing. Keep your best friends safe, toss those bags! And if you have a garbage eater, rip them open before tossing.
This grieving family lost their 12 year old Beagle, Sammy, on January 4th when she suffocated in a chip bag, leaving them crushed. Cindy Scholl writes, "On January 4th, we came home and found our Beagle dead with a Middleswarth chip bag on her head. We have been completely devastated. When we found her, her entire head was in the chip bag but it was completely inflated and not tight and vacuum sealed around her head. She was sick. She had cancer and was on very limited time. I actually knew the risks of bags and we have always been very careful with her (and all of our animals over the years.) Before we left (and it was only for an hour), I made sure phone cords were up, drink glasses were in the sink, and I didn’t see any food dangers. We even have a built-in trash can so she couldn’t get into stuff. A routine I’ve done a thousand times.
What I didn’t realize was my husband had been eating chips and had set the bag down beside his chair for a second and forgot about it. We were not ourselves that day because our kitty who was 15 died the day before from kidney disease, and we had gotten the bad news about Sammy (short for Samantha) two weeks before that she had an apple size tumor in her liver. When he got up, the chair had spun and the bag had gotten stuck under the chair just enough that neither of us saw it. I relive those moments over and over in my head. Since this has happened, I have become an advocate in our area to help prevent this from happening to anyone else. Some days the pain of not knowing what actually happened in her final moments had been almost unbearable.
And I found your page for the exact reason you mentioned…so I didn’t feel alone. People don’t understand the range of emotions you have when you lose a pet, and especially when you lose one in such a traumatic way. I needed to find others who felt the way I did (and understood what I was feeling) so I knew I was “normal.” You saying it happens quickly and they fall asleep does help. I never wanted her to die alone. We had an entire plan worked out with our vet that never happened. She was alone. 😢Thank you so much for your time, for responding, and for listening. What you are doing is wonderful."
When Cindy reached out, she was questioning whether Sammy had actually suffocated in the chip bag, since the bag was not adhered tightly around her neck when found. Pet owners have reported finding their deceased pets both ways - with the food bag still tightly affixed over the head or the food bag was over the head but it was easier to remove. Once the pet stops breathing and there is no more air coming in the bag, it can start to deflate and not have a tight suction. Please share in honor of sweet Sammy.
www.preventpetsuffocation.com
