$5 Kmart dog toy causing 'thousands of dollars' in vet bills has not been recalled

An X-ray of a dog which ingested a part of the cheap toy
An X-ray of a dog which ingested a part of the cheap toy Photo credit: Facebook/ Wilston Vet Clinic

Kmart has not recalled a dog toy accused of causing "thousands of dollars" worth of damage.

An Australian vet clinic says the "brittle" chew toy poses a risk to dogs as it can break and the pieces are swallowed.

The dog toy
The dog toy Photo credit: Screenshot/ Kmart

Wilston Vet in Brisbane posted a warning about the toys on Facebook in May.

"Last week two completely separate dogs (unrelated and unbeknownst to each other) came in on consecutive days to a local emergency centre both with an obstructed gastrointestinal tract," the vet said

"Both required major abdominal surgery to remove the obstruction. In both cases it was a $5 Kmart dog chew toy."

Multiple people revealed they had the same experience in the post's comments.

"I nearly lost one of my dogs after it became obstructed in his intestines. When I contacted Kmart all they said was they would notify their quality control people," wrote one woman.

Kiwi dog owners were also impacted by the toy, forced to spend large on lifesaving surgery for their pets.

"We live in New Zealand and I bought this toy for my dog from Kmart and the exact same thing happened," a woman said.

"Ended up paying thousands of dollars for bowel obstruction surgery. It was terrible, my dog nearly died!"

Two other people said their pets needed surgery thanks to the toys. The vet clinic said they had contacted Kmart to ask the toy be removed from shelves.

The cheap chew toy does not appear on Kmart's recall list or the websites for Kmart Australia or Kmart New Zealand.

Newshub has contacted Kmart for comment.

Newshub.