Scots pet owners have been warned to keep an eye on their animals around barbeque food after a dog and cat both wolfed down wooden skewers.
Border Collie Kelpie cross Bowie was rushed to the vet in Aberdeen while Micah the Bengal cat was taken to the Vets Now Hospital in Glasgow after eating the lengthy sticks.
Dog owner Anne told how her two-year-old pooch swallowed the foot-long foreign object after pinching it from a BBQ in the Granite City’s Seaton Park.
Fearing it would puncture his organs, she rushed him to the Vets Now practise on Skene Road where he was put under general anaesthesia. She explained: “My heart was in my mouth and it was such a scary thing.
“It was a lovely evening and I’d taken Bowie to the park after I got home from work. He’d made friends with some students who were setting up a barbecue and when he ran towards them on the way back, I didn’t think anything of it
“When I got to them, they were telling me I needed a vet and I thought they were worried because he’d eaten some raw chicken. But they showed me a really long skewer and indicated that he’d swallowed one of them whole, straight down like a seal eating a fish.
“I couldn’t believe it as he’d never do anything like that at home or in the garden. It had chicken, peppers and onions on it. I knew the onions were poisonous, but it was the damage the skewer could cause that really worried me as I thought it could pierce his internal organs.
“I put him on the lead anytime I see or smell a barbecue now and I’d warn every owner to really watch out for barbecues as it can happen in an instant.” Sophie Boyd, Principal Vet at the Aberdeen clinic, told how Bowie was “very lucky” that they were able to grab the foreign object without cutting him open.
She said: “It can be difficult to properly pick up wooden sticks on X-rays. But as it was still in his oesophagus, we could just look in and see it. And because of the position, we were able to pass a camera down and use grabbers to carefully manoeuvre it out after a few attempts.”
Cat owners Erin Higgins and Fraser McColl faced a similar anxious dash to the vet after eight-year-old Micah scoffed two chicken satay skewers - for the second time.
Despite taking every precaution, the Bengal managed to get into the bin at their home before being whisked to the Vets Now hospital in Glasgow.
Erin said: “We’ve always been so careful as he got into the kitchen bin when he was just over one-year old. He became acutely unwell and although vets couldn’t see anything with scans, he was sick and brought up this wooden skewer which was several inches long.
“It was amazing he’d eaten it, and that he’d brought it up without tearing something and killing himself. As we like chicken satay, we’ve kept them away from him since and put a lock on the bin to stop him getting at anything.
“But this time it was open for just a few minutes, and he climbed in.” Both skewers were removed during the delicate procedure. One had snapped and the missing end was found floating free in the stomach.
Erin added: “We’ve now stopped buying satay skewers altogether and we’d advise other pet owners to be really cautious.”
Vets Now has revealed that skewer cases more than double in the spring/summer season, with a 131 percent increase compared to autumn/winter months.
Emergency Vet Dave Leicester, head of telehealth at Vets Now, says these cases are a reminder that barbecues and parties can be dangerous for our pets.
He said: “You should keep potentially dangerous human food out of your pet’s reach. Skewers, corn on the cob and bones can be particularly hazardous as can any heavily seasoned or spicy foods.
“Ensure that you dispose of any food waste responsibly and secure any bins that contain potentially dangerous or toxic items.”
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