A PET owner has praised a Staffordshire vet practice for saving the life of her puppy after she swallowed a sock that caused a dangerous blockage in her stomach.
Pickle, a four-month-old Cairn Terrier, was rushed to EC Straiton Vets, which is part of VetPartners, after pulling the sock off her owner’s mum’s foot and wolfing it straight down.
Thanks to the skills and expertise of the veterinary team, they were able to remove the sock without performing surgery and the cheeky pup was able to go home a few hours later, none-the-worse for her experience.
Pickle was being cared for by owner Rachel Bennett’s mum, Gail, who was sitting down when the dog grabbed the toe of her sock, pulled it away and dashed under the sofa.
Despite Gail immediately trying to reach Pickle in her hiding place and remove the sock, the garment had disappeared.
Rachel’s husband, Luke, was called and, as it was a Sunday evening, he rushed their pet straight to EC Straiton’s Penkridge veterinary hospital, which runs a 24-hour emergency service.
Pickle was given medication to make her sick, but when she was unable to bring the sock back up, the veterinary team used a gastroscope, which is a long tube with a camera on the end that can be fitted with grabbing tools, to reach it.
Pickle was anaesthetised, then the scope was gently fed down her throat and into her stomach with vet Craig McCreath, who is one of the practice’s clinical directors, guiding it and veterinary nurse Nicki Wilson operating the grabbing mechanism. Once Nicki had grasped the sock, she gently brought it back up Pickle’s throat and out through her mouth.
Craig said using the gastroscope meant Pickle didn’t need to undergo invasive surgery and she recovered quickly.
Craig said: “Pickle is very lucky that she was brought to us straight away, which meant we could remove the sock before she became unwell. Even though it was an ankle sock it was quite large in comparison to her stomach, and it had blocked the entrance to her digestive system so food material couldn’t progess into the intestines. If it hadn’t been removed it could have led to a ruptured stomach and septic peritonitis, which can be fatal.
“If owners know their pet has swallowed something they shouldn’t, it is best to get them to a vet as quickly as possible. If the object is still in the stomach, it may be possible to reach it with a gastroscope, but once it has progressed further into the digestive system it will need to be removed surgically. We’ve removed lots of interesting items from pet’s stomachs using the gastroscope, including toys, tennis balls and even a camouflage net, which we carefully took out in 1,000 separate pieces.”
High quality care
Pickle is now back at home in Rugeley, and owner Rachel says she hopes her pet has now grown out of her phase of picking up non-edible items.
Rachel said: “Pickle is such an adorable dog and we are so grateful to the team at Straiton Vets for saving her. They gave her the very best care and we’re so grateful they could remove the sock without performing surgery, which was so much better for Pickle.
“Pickle has had a habit of picking up items and chewing them, and we’ve tried to be as vigilant as possible but the last thing we expected her to do was steal a sock off someone’s foot! She did it so quickly, my mum didn’t have a chance of stopping her. Luckily, though, she does seem to be showing less interest in things, but we’re still making sure the floor is always completely clear of things so she can’t be tempted.
“After the sock was removed, we returned it to my mum, but unsurprisingly she didn’t want to wear it again!”
EC Straiton Vets has been delivering the best possible care to pets, horses and farm animals in Staffordshire for 84 years, and has a dedicated team of vets and nurses at its veterinary hospital in Penkridge and branch surgery in Rugeley. For pets, it delivers a range of services to help keep pets happy and healthy, from routine preventive care to complex surgeries.
Article by Jo Browne, PR & Communications manager (South), email: [email protected]