We all know how destructive and silly dogs can be. Whether they chew up all your shoes or cause chaos while you're out of the house, we've all experienced a mischievous pup or two.
However, this Redditor decided it was time to make a change after her dog ate a menstrual pad.
Taking to the social platform to ask for support, the Redditor says, "I don't want to use disposable ones anymore."
"My dog ate one of mine and I had to literally pull it out of his butt," the user describes.
After her dog's unfortunate choice of snack, the Redditor also became concerned about the impact of disposable menstrual products on the environment.
"When it happened to my dog I thought about the disposable ones that go to the landfill and how it could end up happening to wildlife too," she writes in the post.
According to the Women's Environmental Network, disposable menstrual products, including tampons, pads, and applicators, generate over 220,000 tons of waste each year.
Of course, menstruation is not something that can be avoided, and over the course of a lifetime, a single menstruator will use between five and 15 thousand pads and tampons — that's a pretty huge number of disposable products, many of which end up in landfill as plastic waste.
Landfill waste can impact marine animals, land animals, and humans. About 12 million tons of landfill plastics end up in the ocean each year, contributing to the deaths of marine animals as they can mistake the plastic for food or become entangled in the waste.
On land, similar incidents can happen. Birds, raccoons, and lots of other species can easily mistake waste for food, and when they ingest it, it could cause blocks in their digestive systems, which may be fatal.
So what other options are out there?
Commenters on the Reddit post suggest options such as reusable pads, menstrual cups, or period underwear which can all be reused.
Not only are reusable options, like those from Ruby Cup and June, more environmentally friendly, but they are also considered very sanitary and can help save money as you won't have to buy new products every month.
For those not ready to make the switch to the cup, brands like Aisle, Dame, and Saalt all retail reusable pads and period underwear that can be washed and worn again.
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