A young Nova Scotia woman is looking for answers after finding a dead rodent in the stuffing of a pillow she has been sleeping with for eight months.
Erin Pettipas bought a back-rest pillow from Walmart in August.
“I kind of used it as a body pillow. I like hugged it every night to fall asleep,” said the St. Francis Xavier University student.
Earlier this week, Pettipas noticed a strange smell coming from the pillow and a hard lump along one side.
“I cut around and I was pulling out the stuffing and then I seen something black and curled up and I just screamed,” she said.
She found a small, dead rodent. She’s not sure what kind it is.
There were no holes in the pillow and she found no rodent droppings, she said.
Pettipas said the smell of it is overwhelming.
“It’s disgusting,” said her roommate, Sarah Myers.
“Like, to know that she’s been sleeping with it for so long, unknowingly, is kind of scary,” she said.
After the discovery, Pettipas contacted Walmart officials, who apologized.
They have since told her they’re working with the pillow supplier to determine how this could have happened, promising to provide her with the results of their investigation.
“Originally, they offered to replace the pillow, which, I don’t want a new one,” Pettipas said.
Meanwhile, she’s keeping the rodent’s remains in three plastic bags, in case the company wants to take a closer look.
Pettispas said her biggest concern is ensuring this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Dan MacIntosh
