Case of the Month - October 2011
This is Bonnie a young Labrador cross dog was brought in to be checked after she had vomited four times and had loose motions. Bonnie was examined but nothing could be felt in her stomach or intestine. Bonnie is a young dog in a house with young children so her owner was warned that young dogs like this often eat unsuitable things such as toys or clothing and we arranged to see Bonnie the next day. The next day Bonnie was bright but still vomiting so we gave her an anaesthetic and x -rayed her abdomen. We do not x-ray every vomiting dog as the great majority settle down. Bonnie's x- rays however showed signs that looked like fabric in the intestine. Bonnie was put on intravenous fluids and given a general anaesthetic and we made a surgical hole in the midline of her abdomen so could closely examine her intestines. The first part of the small intestine was very firm and there was a very strong suspicion she had eaten some fabric. An incision was made into the small intestine and very carefully a child's sock as in the photograph below was removed. |
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| Bonnie spent the night at the Night Centre based at Alder Vets Centre for observation while still on intravenous fluids and went home the next day. Bonnie made a good recovery and is now back to normal. All socks are now put away promptly. Other things that dogs eat and which then block the intestine are; rubber balls, peach stones, knickers, bras, corn on the cob, batteries , toy soldiers and very rarely golf balls. |  |