Taste the rainbow: Dog poops water beads after mistaking them for treats

A dog in the US had a "ruff time" after mistaking water beads for treats.

In a TikTok video uploaded by a US veterinary technician on Wednesday (Oct 9), a dog is seen spraying colourful beads from its rear.

According to the woman, who works at Animal Urgent Care Arvada in Colorado, the dog had mistaken a bag of water beads for dog treats and emptied the whole bag.

[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@larenmciaren/video/7423616164774923566[/embed]

Water beads are small, colourful spherical toys made from super-absorbent polymer and can expand to the size of a $1 coin over a few hours upon being hydrated.

The beads the dog ate expanded in its stomach and caused indigestion. 

In another video, the woman posted the dog's X-ray scans, which showed the water beads inside its digestive tract.  

The canine was only able to pass about a quarter of the beads it had swallowed, which had not yet been hydrated.

The remaining beads had to be removed via surgery, the vet tech explained.

"Accidents happen and dogs are quick y'all! He needed surgery to remove the rest, but he's on the road to recovery," she added.

Some netizens were tickled by the video, which garnered over 77 million views and 98,000 comments.

One netizen commented: "I'm telling my kids this is how Orbeez (a brand of water beads) are made, so they stop asking for them,"

"I don't remember this Skittles commercial," another commentor wrote.

Another netizen commented: "Does he do parties?"

Concerns about dog's health

Some other netizens, however, said that the dog looked rather thin and feared he had eaten the beads as he was not being properly fed.

One such netizen commented: "Bro is skin and bones. He probably was desperate for something to eat and decided on whatever that was. Poor pup."

"Well, he really wanted and needed to eat for sure, you can see his rib bones," wrote another commentor.

Defending the dog owner, the vet tech responded: "He is underweight, but from what I understood was pretty recently rescued."

"Emergency rooms aren't cheap — the owner paid a lot and went through a lot for this boy. He's definitely very loved!"

Multiple cases in the past have seen water beads being ingested by young children or pets.

Children under 14 should not play with water beads: CPSO

Water bead incidents seen in Singapore's emergency departments went up from one in 2019 to seven in 2021, The Straits Times reported.

In one case, a one-year-old child choked on a bowl of water beads while unsupervised and had to be admitted to hospital for monitoring. 

The Consumer Product Safety Office (CPSO) recommends that children under 14 should not be allowed to play with water beads as sensory toys.

In addition to containing small parts, water beads may expand to many times their original size as they absorb water and may cause obstructions or injuries within the body, CPSO explained.

If water beads are used as vase fillers or gardening products at home, caregivers should ensure they are out of reach of children as they are often brightly coloured and can be mistaken for candy. 

ALSO READ: 'Apparently he's money-motivated': Dog of US couple eats over $5,300 in cash

bhavya.rawat@asiaone.com