Pets are always curious about things around them and can bite or swallow everything in their stomach. Therefore, we need to be more careful when leaving anything near them.
The following case could be a warning to pet owners, as a pug dog swallowed more than 50 hair bands in its stomach and had to have urgent surgery.
A dog was rushed to the vet with some strange behaviors
A family from Sherborne, Dorset rushed their pet dog to the vet after noticing its strange behavior for several days.
Owner Victoria Northwood revealed the dog, a cross between a Chihuahua and a Pug, suddenly became quieter and more tired than usual, making her extremely worried.
Ham is a rather aggressive and lively dog, spending most of his time playing around at home and barking at anyone who passes by the house.
However, in the last few days, it has become surprisingly quiet, with some signs of fatigue. Therefore, Victoria quickly took it to the veterinarian for a checkup.
The veterinarian spotted more than 50 hairbands corresponding to 200g in her stomach.
Through X-ray checks, the veterinarian was extremely surprised to find a strangely large mass in Ham's intestines.
Veterinary surgeon Newton Clarke quickly performed emergency surgery to eliminate the foreign body in Ham's abdomen.
Surprisingly, what they found were more than 50 hair bands weighing over 200g in the little dog's stomach. That was exactly what caused the dog's fatigue.
"When these hairbands came out the other end, we knew Ham occasionally swallowed them. But we were horrified after spotting she swallowed so many hairbands in her stomach," Vitoria admitted.
"We are definitely going to be more vigilant from now on!" The owner concluded.
After emergency surgery, Ham gradually recovered and became more active.
Victoria also emphasized that she will pay attention to everything Ham plays with and is grateful that Ham is fine after this unfortunate incident.
Another case of pets swallowing foreign bodies
Similar to Ham, a dog named Molly, from Ireland, had emergency surgery after retching and refusing to eat for several days.
Based on X-ray results, there were three of her owner's socks stuck in her stomach, causing terrible vomiting.
According to the veterinary clinic's report, the three socks not only got stuck in the dog's stomach but were all spread apart, causing an abdominal bulge and blockage.
The most tricky thing was that three foreign bodies were in different areas of her digestive tract.
"Two of them intertwined linearly in the proximal duodenum [first part of small intestines]," the vet said.
"We have to do a gastrotomy and an enterotomy to remove carefully the socks out of her stomach," the vet concluded.
After emergency surgery, Molly quickly recovered and was soon to be sent home.
However, Molly still must keep a strict diet according to the veterinarian's instructions to ensure the best recovery process.
