A sad story and important warning. Please read.

Hi,

I just signed on to this forum to tell my story in the hopes that I might save another puppy or dog somewhere down the line. I brought home my new pug puppy, Athena, last Monday, and exactly one blissful week later, I came home to her strangled to death. We kept her in a metal exercise/play pen so that she could run around and play with her toys while we were not at home. On Monday I came home from work to find that she had somehow jumped up to the edge of her playpen (which was twice her height), and somehow got her collar (which was quite secure around her neck) lodged on an almost unnoticeable rounded hinge. It was so improbable and so completely unfair to both her and to us, her parents. We had done everything we could do to ensure her safety, read every book and website, bought everything necessary without regard to price. The one thing that we never saw mentioned is that you should ALWAYS TAKE OFF YOUR DOG'S COLLAR WHEN YOU ARE NOT AROUND. If she hadn't gotten herself stuck on that little hinge, it could have been any number of other things in the house, so please be careful, even if you do not use this kind of pen. The odds of this happening to your dog are probably very low, but please take the extra few seconds to remove the collar just in case. Believe me, I don't want anyone to go through what I am going through right now. . . the guilt, the sadness, the emptiness of her just not being around anymore. I had her for the best week of my life, but I wish it could have been more. Please take care of your dogs. . . they are such wonderful, perfect animals.

I'm so sorry this happened to you, you must be heart broken.

I am so sorry, this is so unfair I don't like pens because my pup was also climbing out of it all the time. Crates are much safer, and I can't agree more about the collar for puppies. I can't even imagine how hard it must have been.

That's terrible. I hope you'll be ok.

I am so sorry. That is a terrible thing that happened. How are you holding up?

My sympathies to an unfortunate accident. I always left collars on my dogs, but after reading that I will begin removing them when they are unattended. Thank you for sharing, because it just may save a life. Very brave and kind of you to think of others above your own hurt. I am very sorry for your loss.

I'm soooo sorry...that is just so very, very sad. I'm glad you passed this info along, I know I wouldn't have thought of it either. ((((HUGS))))

I'm so sorry for you and thanks for the warning for others. One of my pups was strangled in his cage too....the owner had his collar off but it had a top openning and somehow managed to jump and get his head stuck.... after that I warned all new owners to put extra clips around. Also, for people who have decks with space between boards....watch for tags etc that may catch. Before I knew better, I luckily saw my dog with the end of a chain collar caught !!

I'm holding up better now. Tuesday and Wednesday were horrible for me--the image does not leave my mind. I've found a lot of solace in signing up on various forums and writing to other dog publications to get our story out there. It makes me feel better that I might be able to help someone else avoid this catastrophe. Thanks for all of the really supportive comments.

That is so sad, and scary. I have a habit of only putting the collars on to go for a walk, then as we are coming back in, one by one the collar comes off. But not because of that. Gracie's is so her fur doesnt get all messed up, Princess I do it because Gracie might pull on it or something while playing. I never even thought of a puppy getting hung up by the collar and now I will warn others. Thank you for warning us.

I am so sorry for your loss of your little pug baby. After hearing a similar horror story I am careful to always take off collars when I put my dogs in their crates.

That's terrible! I'm so sorry for you!

This is exactly why most boarding places just hand you back your leash and collar when you check in. That way you know you have it when you come to pick up and we know that your dog isn't going to have an unfortunate accident.

So sorry to hear what happened. Thanks for posting in hopes of helping others not have the same tragedy happen.

Oh I am so sorry. How devastating.

your warning is a good one..i cannot tell you how many times i see choke chains used as collars ...collared dogs in kennels..it doesn't matter how gentle you approach people and warn them, they say it won't happen to me. i know stories no one wants to know..some I've heard, other's i have seen. victor's collar is attached to his leash.when the leash comes off, so does the collar. The only exception is when we are at the off leash park. Mary doesn't wear one, she isn't going anywhere so i do not need to worry. There are safety collars for cats and if someone is worried that their dog will run away with no identification, that is a way to go, along with tatooing. Chip is good for Shelter detection and vet, but for the average laymen, the tattoo is a better way to go. i am so sorry for you loss. I hope you open you hearts to a new soul and are blessed.

Awww...I'm so so sorry for your loss, that's absolutely terrible!! Thank you so much for sharing this story with us. I'll certainly pass it on to others. Take care of yourself!