Burnie Boyle is a boisterous 2yr old lab retriever, mix that came in for an appointment
on 11/17/17. He had a history of allergies, and had been vomiting since 2 a.m. The owner stated that he kept asking to go outside and every time that he would he would continuously eat grass, then vomit it right back up. His vomiting finally stopped at one point and was able to eat breakfast. He managed to keep it down, but was very restless and uncomfortable after eating and not looking for treats like he normally would.
Dr. Sappington did a full exam, and he would allow his stomach to be palpated and didn’t tense up. However, he was walking around with an arched back and seemed restless. After doing her exam, Dr. Sappington suggested doing radiographs to see if there was a blockage in his intestines somewhere. The radiographs showed dilated, gas-filled intestines, consistent with a foreign body. The owner elected to do surgery that evening.
Burnie was given 1.4cc of buprenorphine to keep him comfortable until surgery began. During surgery Dr. Sappington found a foreign body of 1.5cm in diameter and 15cm long that was found in the distal jejunum (small intestine). The foreign body turned out to be long strands of stiff grass blades, which we removed. Burnie recovered very well after his surgery and was able to go home later on the next day. Burnie is now on a 3 month vacation with his owners down south, enjoying the sun. And hopefully not eating grass!!
Written by Taylor
