Hungry Labrador Feeling Fine After Shedding A Few Stones
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A young labrador is back to her best after shedding a few stones in what Staffordshire vets described as a ‘remarkable’ case which put her health at potentially serious risk.
One-year-old Ellie-May was young and fit but had incredibly swallowed a number of pebbles that had become dangerously lodged in her stomach.
It needed the experts at Linnaeus-owned Shires Vets in Eccleshall, Staffordshire, to come to the rescue, carrying out an intricate operation to remove the rocks and enabling Ellie-May to make a full recovery.
Relieved owner Robert Price, from Gnosall in Staffordshire, admitted his beloved pet’s recovery is a weight off his mind, saying: “Ellie-May’s as fit as a fiddle again now and we’re hoping she has learned her lesson.
“She had swallowed 11 stones in total. I found seven when she vomited up her breakfast and she managed to pass one at the other end.
“I still took her straight to the vets, though, where they found a further three lodged in her stomach.”
Ellie Chiswell, a vet surgeon at Linnaeus-owned Shires Vets, which also has practices in Stafford, Gnosall and Hanley, dealt with the dramatic case and explained: “This was a pretty unique and remarkable case.
“We took a series of abdominal radiographs which demonstrated multiple stones within the stomach, with the size and number of stones making it a very unusual occurrence.
“Ellie-May promptly had an exploratory laparotomy (which is surgery to explore her abdomen), with an incision made into her small intestine to remove the large stones, and the rest of the intestine was checked to ensure no further stones.
“The procedure was successful. All stones were removed and Ellie-May has now made a full and uneventful recovery.
“She spent a couple of weeks recuperating, with exercise on her lead only for the first week due to the size of her abdominal wound, with this exercise gradually increased as her recovery progressed and the wound healed.”
Owner Robert added: “Thankfully, we can look back on it now without any adverse effects but it could have been very serious, so we’re grateful to Shires Vets for their expert help.”
For more information about Shires, which also has practices in Stafford, Eccleshall, Gnosall and Hanley, visit www.shiresvets.com or search for Shires Vets on Facebook.