A cheeky Scots dog has lost 2.5ft of his intestines after he accidentally swallowed one of his rope toys.
Charlie the chocolate Labrador was rushed into the Albavet branch in Kirkcaldy, Fife, after he began vomiting and going off his food for several days.
Medics initially feared he had caught a gastroenteritis bug but later discovered a ‘material-like substance’ in his stomach and were forced to operate.
They uncovered a six inch long piece of rope, which had a large knot in it, that Charlie had swallowed whole last month.
Owner Gillian Pitcaithly, from Glenrothes, told how the eight-year-old is well-known for munching on things he shouldn’t, especially her underwear.
The 48-year-old business owner explained: “Normally when you come downstairs in the morning, he bounces around looking for his breakfast.
“But he was lying on the kitchen floor looking all sad. I looked at him and thought ‘what have you done’ because he looked quite guilty, as if he had done something wrong.
“I put his food down for him and he didn’t eat it. He later started being sick so I quickly put him outside but for the rest of the day, he kept being ill and wouldn’t eat his food.
“I thought he had eaten something he shouldn’t, which he does often. He’s done it since he was eight-weeks-old when we got him so I thought he’d poop it out like he normally does.
“That was on the Sunday but by the Tuesday, he was barely lifting his head and was still off his food so I took him to the vets.
“I thought he had been eating his bedding because he really will eat anything. It’s normally my pants.
Has your pet ever swallowed anything strange? Have your say in the comments section.
“They couldn’t see a blockage so they gave him an anti-sickness injection and he came home.”
Charlie didn’t improve and was admitted the following day to be placed on a drip and to undergo further investigations.
On January 27, a scan of stomach revealed the foreign object which was later removed during emergency surgery along with a large section of his guts.
Gran Gillian added: “On the Saturday morning we got a call to say he was finally eating again and he could come home.
“He was to go back for his check up the following Friday but the night before, he ate a pair of pants. Thankfully he managed to pass those on his own this time.
“He’s totally back to normal now, mooching for food and pestering me. He’s lost a wee bit of weight but that’s to be expected given what he’s been through.”
Dr Tom Henderson, clinical director at Albavet, said owners should look out for vomiting, dehydration, abdominal pain and diarrhoea if they suspect their pet has swallowed something foreign.
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