A POORLY Boxer whose family feared he was seriously ill has bounced back to health after vets discovered he had eaten four teddy bears.
Owners Kyoko and Glenn Brougham were worried when their much-loved pet Yuki started intermittently vomiting and was unable to keep food down.
They took their eight-year-old pet to Avondale Vet in Arklow and, because he was otherwise well, he was given anti-vomiting medication.
However, when the vomiting continued and he started losing weight, they returned to the practice where an ultrasound scan revealed a suspicious dark mass in his stomach. He then underwent an x-ray which confirmed it was a foreign body
It meant Yuki needed an operation to remove the foreign body, and vet Alannah Rogers was astonished by what she found during surgery – four teddies with their faces staring back at her.
The practice is now warning owners to ensure their dogs toys and other items that may be lying around are safe and suitable for the size of their pet.
Alannah said: “During the surgery we saw one teddy, then another and couldn’t believe it when we eventually pulled out four stuffed bears in total. It’s certainly one of the most unusual cases I’ve seen. Luckily the owners knew to book in for a revisit when Yuki was still vomiting even after being given the medication – a point we would always stress to owners.”
Yuki’s owners, who live in Hollyfort, near Gorey, have praised the practice for their care, skills and expertise they showed in treating their much-loved pet whose name means in happiness in Japanese.
Glenn said: “We’re relieved that Yuki is back to normal and running around. The teddies came from a toy that was a ball with teddies inside that you can pull out and we had no idea he had eaten it.
“He was sick on and off for a while and we tried different foods in case that was the cause. We also gave him chicken and rice to see if that settled his stomach. He then became sick around six hours after every meal and started losing weight. We’re so glad Avondale Vets managed to get to the bottom of the problem, and we never thought it would be caused by teddy bears.”
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, VetPartners PR and Communications Director, at [email protected] or 07970 198492