A DOG owner has implored fellow animal lovers to stop giving pets tennis balls after her alsatian nearly choked to death on one.

Sandra Prince, 63, was taking her seven-year-old dog called Storm out for a walk when her partner Nick Riley noticed he’d swallowed a tennis ball.

The ball became lodged in his throat so Mr Riley grabbed a car to take the beloved pet to an emergency care service in Bury.

Ms Prince, of Walmsley Avenue, Rishton, said: “We were both hysterical when it happened.

“Nick grabbed the car and sped off to rush him straight to the emergency vets in Bury.

“The drive to Bury is about 45 minutes from Rishton so we both thought the worst because we knew that once Storm had the ball in his throat, he only had about six minutes of air in his windpipe.

“I got a call about 25 minutes later with Nick sobbing down the phone saying Storm wasn’t breathing.”

Mr Riley pulled over and managed to successfully dislodge the ball from Storm’s throat.

But the pet was still not breathing which forced the 61-year-old to perform CPR on him.

Ms Prince said: “Nick somehow managed to get the ball out of his throat and gave Storm CPR for three or four minutes.

“Nick said he was so scared until Storm coughed loudly.

“A big thanks goes to Nick from Storm for saving his life.”

“If anyone is in need of an ambulance, don’t bother with the emergency services call Nick Riley.

Ms Prince has now thrown balls out and is encouraging other dog owners to do the same.

She said: “I’ve been using tennis balls for years, but after this it’s dawned on me just how dangerous they can be.

“I would make a plea to dog owners to stop giving them tennis balls as it could be deadly.

“Storm was lucky but he is a living example of how things can go wrong.”

Patrick Moore, a vet at Stanley House Veterinary Group in Colne, said: “It’s obviously a horrible thing to hear has happened.

“For us at Stanley House it’s a very uncommon thing.

“We see a lot more dogs coming in that have chewed up tennis balls and there’s damage to their stomachs because of it.

“In all of my 22 years as a vet I think I’ve only ever seen one other case like this.

“I would say good advice is to supervise your dog if you use tennis balls

“There are lots of other toys to use if you’re worried.”