Leading vet charity PDSA saved a puppy’s life after he swallowed a 20″ plastic toy arrow whole, which needed emergency surgery to remove.
It’s unknown exactly how four-month-old Cane Corso pup, Bruno, bit of more than he could chew while playing with his doggie pal, Hugo. At first his owner Stacey Duff didn’t know what was wrong when he came in from the garden retching. But, concerned he may have something stuck in his throat, she called Manchester PDSA Pet Hospital who told her to bring him straight down. “It was so scary,” she recalled.
At PDSA, which provides free and low-cost vet care for pets in need, the team quickly prepared Bruno for anaesthetics and x-rays. They were astonished to discover a 50cm (20”) long plastic arrow from a toy set lodged in his food pipe. “That was what shocked us all the most,” Stacey added, “that he’d managed to swallow the entire thing whole.”
Bruno is just one of hundreds of thousands of pets that PDSA sees every year, and on average the charity’s veterinary teams see 11 pets every minute. Preparing for what is expected to be a very busy Christmas season PDSA Vet Caragh Kelleher, who helped to treat Bruno, is asking for support to help save lives like his.
She said: “We don’t receive government funding, so any amount can help us to save a star like Bruno.” Visit www.pdsa.org.uk/saveastar to see how you can help.
Knowing they had to act fast, the vets and nurses took Bruno straight into emergency surgery. Caragh said: “The toy arrow that Bruno swallowed was so long it extended from his throat all the way to his stomach. It needed to be removed quickly as there was a high risk it could pierce through his stomach wall, causing a life-threatening infection. It may also have caused a blockage in his stomach, which would have been fatal if left untreated.”
Caragh, with the assistance of others in the veterinary team, was thankfully able to remove the arrow successfully. After an overnight stay the lively pup was able to return home to his worried family.
Caragh continued: “At PDSA saving lives is what we do – we fix broken limbs, treat chronic conditions, and relieve suffering and pain, all of which keeps people and pets together. But we rely solely on generous public support to run our vital services, so it’s a constant struggle to keep our doors open and our shelves stocked with life-saving supplies.”
Back home, Bruno’s family were extremely relieved to get Bruno home safely. “It would’ve been hard without PDSA,” Stacey said, “we’re so grateful as it was an out-of-hours emergency and we were seen to very quickly.”
PDSA provided Stacey with medication and antibiotics for Bruno to help him recover at home. He’s now back to his bouncy mischievous self and is growing bigger by the day. “Bruno is our big baby, he’s a gentle giant really – he’s so soft with everyone. He’s quickly become a massive part of our family and I couldn’t imagine life without him.”
Since the accident, Stacey makes sure Bruno only has access to his own dog-safe toys, to prevent any further mishaps.
Puppies are known for getting their paws on things they shouldn’t, which can have disastrous consequences. They explore things with their mouths and can frequently swallow things accidentally or, as is suspected in Bruno’s case, an innocent play session can result in a freak accident. PDSA’s advice is to contact your vet right away if you think your pet has eaten or swallowed something it shouldn’t.
