Family pet has tail amputated after being 'decorated' with loom band

Vet warns parents to be vigilant over young children who do not realise the dangers

Patches the dog is recovering well (CaraVet, via Facebook)

A Dublin vet has warned dog owners of the dangers of loom bands after a family pet had to have its tail amputated.

Patches, a cross-breed belonging to a young family on the outskirts of Dublin, was “decorated” by the children with a loom band around her tail, causing the dog significant discomfort.

The colourful band cut off the blood supply to Patches’ tail – meaning that it had to be partly amputated.

Vicky Fenlon, manager of Cara Vet Hospital in Blanchardstown which treated the animal, said: “We sedated Patches and cut away the hair from her tail and found that a loom band had cut off the blood flow to it”.

The vet was forced to partly amputate Patches’ tail.

Patches' tail when she was brought in (Cara Vet, via Facebook)

Ms Fenlon, speaking to Ireland’s Herald newspaper, urged parents to “be extra vigilant and know that children are putting loom bands on dogs’ legs, tails or ears”.

Patches has now recovered and is back at home with her family.

More than three million loom bands have been sold worldwide since the craze started early this summer. Marketed as a toy for children, adults have been spotted wearing the brightly coloured plastic bands.

In one instance a dress made entirely from loom bands sold on eBay for more than £170,000.

Last month, The Entertainer, the British toy giant who sells loom bands, was forced to withdraw all loom band charms from stores after a BBC investigation discovered carcinogenic chemicals in a loom band charm.