Who doesn’t love kebab? Well, vegans don’t, but dogs certainly do! In fact, the Border collie Sweep loves kebab so much that he ate it together with the 6-inch (15 cm) wooden stick!
The 2-year-old Border collie from Harlow, Essex, had to be rushed to the vets at Dick White Referrals in Cambridgeshire. He had “extreme respiratory distress” because the stick had gone through his stomach and damaged a lung. Needless to say, Sweep’s condition was critical and the vets needed almost six full hours to save his life.
Sweep’s owners sad that Sweep has been on a weight-loss diet, so he was in a “scavenging mood”.
That being said, it’s no wonder what happened to whatever was on the kebab stick before Sweep devoured it.
The vets at Dick White Referrals had to carry out two scans before they could find the cause of Sweep’s respiratory distress. After all, a 6-inch wooden stick isn’t something you normally check for when you examine someone.
The whole ordeal took place at the end of February, even though we are learning about it now. The two vets that operated on Sweep were in for quite a challenge, as the wooden stick had caused too much damage. Sweep’s lungs had started to leak and the lack of oxygen was close to leaving the dog brain-damaged. The vets had to use ice packs to drop the dog’s temperature in order to protect his brain from the air deprivation.
The 6-hour operation had started at 14:45 and didn’t end before 21:00 GMT. After that followed a period of intensive, long-lasting care by two veterinary nurses.
Still, with the combined efforts of the folks at Dick White Referrals and Sweep’s family, the dog started to recover. Initially, the dog had even gone blind from the “brain cortex being starved of oxygen”, as a spokeswoman from the surgery had said. Fortunately, after two days, even the dog’s sight returned.
It took a week of care for Sweep to begin eating normally again. After that, he was returned home to his family and is expected to soon return to “full health”.
