Blue Cross saves mischievous puppy who ate a nail

A greedy puppy found himself in need of life-saving emergency surgery after gobbling up a two-inch nail while he was out on a walk.

Six-month-old Buddy was rushed to the Blue Cross animal hospital in Grimsby after his worried owner saw the mischievous Akita pup swallow what looked like a piece of metal.

He was admitted straight away and put under general anaesthetic so that our veterinary team could take X-rays to check what was inside his tummy.

Owner Elif Ozdemir said: “We were just out walking in the park and we got to this big area of field so I put him on the long leash and then I saw him sniffing something.

“It all happened very fast; I then saw him swallow this silver thing, I could see it was a piece of metal but didn’t know what it was exactly.

“He looked fine, and wasn’t showing any signs of sickness or pain, but I took him straight to Blue Cross. I’m so thankful that I saw him eat it; it was so lucky I got him there in time.”

Elif was shocked to be told that X-rays had clearly revealed that Buddy had eaten a long nail that was bent to a 90 degree angle – putting his life in grave danger.

“I was so worried, I thought he might die. It was terrible,” she said.

But Blue Cross immediately operated on Buddy to remove the nail before it could do any damage to his internal organs.

Grimsby Veterinary Nurse Tracy Nicholson said: “Buddy is very lucky that his owner saw him swallow the nail and we were able to remove it so quickly before it did any damage.

“After X-rays showed the nail in his stomach, he was rushed straight into theatre for emergency surgery to remove it.

“It was a big operation, so he needed intensive nursing while he recovered.

“He was monitored closely and put on intravenous pain relief and antibiotics, and given very small amounts of bland chicken and rice every couple of hours.

“The next day Buddy was bright and happy so we were able to send him home in the evening for strict rest and with a very bland diet while he recovered, as well as antibiotics to prevent any infections and pain relief.”

After four days at home, Elif said that Buddy started to go back to his normal happy, bouncy self.

“I was just so relieved when I got the call back to say he had had the surgery," she said.

“I was so grateful and so happy to be able to take him back home.

“It took him about four days to start moving about normally again. We had to make him special meals like scrambled egg and plain rice, which he loved!"

“It was a tough time but he’s fine now and is doing very well,” added Elif.