PDSA vets recently came to the rescue of a tiny four-month-old Yorkshire Terrier that swallowed a large plastic toy seahorse!
Tina Brannan (29) from Chaddesden, Derby, was distraught when her
mischievous pup, Tia, pounced on one of her children’s favourite
toys and raced up the garden with it clenched in her teeth. When Tina
tried to retrieve the stricken toy, Tia gobbled it up.
“I simply couldn’t believe it when she swallowed the
seahorse. It seemed surreal and happened so quickly. Tia is just a
delicate little pup and the seahorse toy is pretty big, so I was amazed
that it was physically possible for her to swallow it.”
Tina rushed Tia to Derby PDSA PetAid hospital for emergency surgery
where PDSA vets removed the toy from her stomach. PDSA Senior
Veterinary Surgeon, Vicky Sims, says: “When we measured the toy
seahorse it was five inches long and one-and-a-half inches wide.
Considering Tia is still only a puppy and her dimensions are pretty
small, it really is amazing that she managed to swallow it.
“It’s very lucky that Tina saw what happened otherwise
the seahorse could have caused a fatal blockage or infection if left
undetected.”
Tia spent two nights at Derby PDSA PetAid hospital before being
allowed home where she has gone on to make a full recovery. Today, the
only physical evidence of the ordeal is a two inch scar on Tia’s
stomach.
Tina adds: “She eats like a horse so it’s quite ironic
that she swallowed one. We are keeping a very close eye on her to
prevent anything like this from happening again. She’s a bit like
a mini vacuum cleaner; anything that gets in her way, edible or not,
she tucks right in.”
PDSA has a varied casebook of pets that have swallowed unusual objects and can now add a seahorse toy to this list.
Here’s the charity’s list of the top ten most common foreign bodies which pets have got their teeth into!
1. Dummies/teats
2. Stones
3. Bones
4. Toys
5. Balls
6. Corn on the cob cores
7. Miscellaneous rubber objects e.g. household waste, bits of rubber toys
8. Fabric or clothing – socks are the most common, but PDSA vets have also seen bras and knickers too!
9. Linear foreign bodies such as – needle and thread in cats, tape cassette in dogs.
10. Plastic bags
Other bizarre items found in pet’s tummies include packs of
condoms, rubber ducks, and corks! But what is it that causes pets to
swallow these things?
Today at 10:49 pm by 
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