A sick St. Bernard was thought to have cancer because of a bloated tummy, but it turned out that the dog had just swallowed some children's toys. The dog's owners feared for the St. Bernard's health once they saw that her stomach was unusually full.
The veterinarian was just as confused about the mass as the owners.
Maisy's Teddy Bears
The owners of eight-year-old St. Bernard Maisy were concerned for her health when they took her to the vet. Maisy was found to have four half-chewed teddy bears inside of her. A CT scan performed on Maisy showed that she had an abnormally full stomach and a mass on her spleen.
Vets thought that the issue was due to Maisy's inability to digest food properly. Maisy's vet diagnosed her with cancer, she was immediately rushed into surgery to have her spleen taken out. While she was being operated, vets discovered the four teddy bears, which had become stuck in her stomach.
Maisy had taken the toys away from another family's dogs. After the surgery was complete, Maisy recovered from what had been ailing her prior to the procedure. Her histology report showed that she has no signs of cancer.
Maisy's owners she might not return if she went in for surgery. Her owner, Jane Dickinson, said that she had seen Maisy steal toys from the family's chihuahua, but Maisy had never tried to chew on the toys.
One of the toys found in Maisy's stomach wasn't recognized by the owner. Dickinson says it belonged to her brother's dog.
Dogs Swallowing Weird Things
Dogs may have a disorder called pica, which makes them eat things that have no nutritional value. This is common in puppies and breeds of dogs such as Labradors and dachshunds. Puppies eat and chew on all things, but they grow out of it. Some dogs are just always hungry, such as Labradors.
Hooch, a hound mix from Florida, ate some leftover building materials. Hooch swallowed a mixture of nails, screws, and staples. Veterinarians removed 309 nails, screws, and staples from his body during surgery.
A Rottweiler named Luciano swallowed his owner's engagement ring. An X-ray later confirmed the owner's suspicions. To get the engagement ring back, the owners had to wait until Luciano passed it along. They had to sift through the dog's feces to retrieve the ring.
Then there is Fred, a mixed dog who swallowed some of the worst things that dogs can ingest. When Fred was a puppy, she ate grapes, which are harmful to a dog's health. She proceeded to eat chocolate for her next trick. Finally, she swallowed glue and a cell phone charger. X-rays showed the glue in her stomach along with the wires of the cell phone charger.
