A greedy cockapoo diced with death after wolfing down an 11in KEBAB only to spend months with the skewer lodged just millimetres from his heart.
Pup Rolo's eyes were bigger than his belly when he chomped on the hefty meat skewer, which his owners believe was from a family barbeque last summer.
But scans later showed the wooden stick dangerously close to piercing his vital organs which would have almost certainly killed him.
Poor Rolo had to undergo a two-hour operation to remove the stick, which had become lodged beneath his ribs and was edging towards his heart.
Owner Joanne Ogden said she "prepared for the worst" when she found out the skewer had ended up inside the beloved family pet.
"With Rolo being a puppy, he explores everything, so I was always vigilant about picking things off the ground," said Joanne.
“But he definitely sneaked the kebab from somewhere, whether from the table or bin."
Joanne believes the kebab stick may have been lodged in Rolo's body for more than six months as he had bouts of vomiting and diarrhoea last summer after a family barbecue.
She took him to the vet after he experienced some stomach and digestive problems, but thought his health woes were over when he responded well to treatment.
But an x-ray hadn't picked up the wooden skewer and several months later she grew worried when Rolo began yelping in pain as she tried to pick him up and then found a lump on his side.
Joanne took him to Clifton Lodge Vets in Hartlepool, where clinical director Sarah Crawford found the roughly 30cm (11inch) kebab stick lodged in the dog’s body.
Sarah and her team then carried out a 'complex and dangerous' operation to save his life before it could work its way into his heart.
Amazingly, Rolo started breathing again independently as soon as his chest was sewn up - and he was walking within the hour.
Sarah said: “We believe the stick had somehow been ingested and pierced his stomach at some point and managed to migrate into his chest.
“The stick was about 1cm away from his heart and the other end was poking out towards the body wall. It was trapped under the ribs.
“If it had worked its way into the heart Rolo would have died quite quickly."
After the surgery, the sassy 18-month old pup was put onto a short course of antibiotics and has now made an “incredible recovery”.
"He is very energetic and has a lovely, funny character with a little bit of sass as well," Joanne added.
“He is back to his normal self apart from having a scar down his chest.
"When I walk into the vets practice now everybody knows him. I can’t thank them enough. The care has been amazing.”
