January Pet of the Month

Elly Dowden is a 2-year-old female pit bull mix. Elly is a very active dog. She came to our clinic in October with the symptoms of vomiting for at least two days. She wasn’t interested in any food and her owners were starting to get worried. She was given wet food and ate it very eagerly but vomited it up just a few hours later. We immediately did x-rays and bloodwork to see what might be causing her symptoms. The x-rays revealed that she had a foreign body in her intestines. Exploratory surgery was performed of the abdomen and revealed her peritonitis was very inflamed omentum. The object that was lodged in poor Elly’s abdomen was 3x4x2 foreign object that was causing bruising in the intestines. The foreign body was revealed as a stopper to a baby gate. Elly took a couple of days to recover but she is in full recovery and active as ever. She has not sustained any further complications since the removal of the stopper.
 
The importance of Elly’s situation is to always remember that all animals are very inquisitive. Many animals will chew or swallow almost anything. They sometimes are like having toddlers around because you never know what they may put in their mouths. As described in this situation, a small stopper to a baby’s gate caused this dog a lot of undue pain. Be very observant of what your animals have access to. Remove any small objects or even larger objects that can become smaller objects when chewed as they may become choking hazards or become lodged in the digestive system.
 
Elly’s owners were aware of her unusual behavior and brought her to our clinic. If at any time your animals have unusual behaviors and you cannot explain the reason, please seek veterinary attention as soon as possible.
 
 
Written by Taylor