Kaley Cuoco Issues Warning After 'Violently Ill' Pup Required Surgery
Kaley Cuoco issued a dire warning to pet owners after she nearly lost one of her pups.
Cuoco, 37, took to her Instagram Story on Monday, July 17, with a series of photos showing her adorable Chihuahua named King on the mend after he came into contact with an incredibly dangerous, if not fatal, plant.
"This is for all my dog lovers out there!" she began in the text on the first slide, which featured a photo a very dry looking plant. "This is foxtail. They are extremely dangerous to animals esp dogs."
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Cuoco continued, explaining that despite taking her pup to multiple appointments with trusted veterinarians, it took her and her beau, Tom Pelphrey, almost two months to find a remedy for King.
"We spent the last 2 months trying to figure out what was wrong with our King. He had been violently ill and nothing was working. Many vet appts, surgery and endless meds," she recalled. "Finally found a specialist who found 2 of these in his body days away from piercing his heart !!"
Luckily, King is expected to make a full recovery and Cuoco said his status is already improving. "He is doing soooo much better but as u can see he has a ton of stitches from a super intense surgery," she wrote in the second post shared to her Story.
Still, she wanted to issue the warning as exposure to foxtail parts (and other plants like it) isn't something that a dog will overcome on their own.
According to experts, if ingested or inhaled, the pieces of the plant can migrate inside your dog, causing issues like irritation, abscesses, swelling and even death, and the only treatment is surgery. Pieces or seeds of the foxtail plant can also be easily embedded in a dog's fur, eventually digging through the skin and causing serious issues.
Officials recommend checking your dog's coat after each walk if you live in an area where foxtail grass grows, and of course, removing any foxtail plants from your property to prevent health scares like what King and the Cuoco family experienced.
"Please be careful," The Flight Attendant star begged. "Also please note that these must be surgically removed. They do not heal on their own!"
"Take care of your pets or don't have one!" Cuoco added. "We are so grateful he is ok and will live a long happy life!"
In addition to Cuoco and Pelphrey's furbaby, King, the couple also shares a handful of other rescue dogs–Zeus, Ruby, Shirley and Miss Opal–and farm animals, including horses. The couple recently grew their human family by one and welcomed a beautiful baby girl named Matilda earlier this year.
Next: Kaley Cuoco Shares New Parenting Injury: 'Mommy Wrist'