Dog needs surgery after wolfing down baby’s bottle teat
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This amazing x-ray left vets gobsmacked when they discovered the cause of Diesel the dog’s tummy woes – a teat from a baby’s bottle!
The young Staffordshire bull terrier was taken to PDSA’s Swansea Pet Hospital by his worried owner Paula Balint, (40), after he began refusing food and became very lethargic.
Paula, from Sandfields, Port Talbot, said: “The vets said they would need to do some x-rays. I couldn’t believe it when they told me that he’d swallowed a baby bottle teat.
“It must have been from one of my grandson Ozzy’s bottles but I don’t know where Diesel found it!”
PDSA vets performed emergency surgery to remove the teat before it caused a fatal blockage.
Senior vet Eleri Laine said: “It was very serious because Diesel was so unwell, and we knew we had to act fast before he became extremely poorly.
“He received treatment through our A&E service, which has received fantastic funding support from players of People’s Postcode Lottery, and thankfully he made a full recovery.”
Paula said she had a number of baby bottles in the house because she often looks after her young grandson.
She said: “Diesel must have found a teat on the floor or something and he’s wolfed it down whole. I’m now really careful not to leave things lying around.”
Apart from baby bottle teats, Diesel also has a soft spot for people’s shoes which he likes to chew when no-one is looking.
PDSA vets say dogs often like to use their mouth to investigate objects as well as to eat and sometimes a pet will swallow an item by mistake.
The phenomenon is known as ‘pica’ and can prove very dangerous. Objects can cause a problem in the stomach but when they move out of the stomach and into the intestines they can become stuck, causing a life-threatening tear or blockage.
PDSA vets recommend training pets to play with safe toys from a young age which help to curb their temptation to chew other objects, as well as teaching basic commands like ‘drop’ and ‘leave’.
For more tips and advice visit www.pdsa.org.uk/strange
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