A dog named Marley ate 34 gingerbread Christmas tree decorations and had to endure 3 hours of surgery to save his life.
The 7-year-old Labrador stole the ornaments, with the ribbons still attached, from his owner’s Bournemouth kitchen.
Rachael Bulmer, Marley’s owner, rushed him to a veterinary hospital after the dog went into shock.
During the operation, vets from the PDSA animal charity removed the ribbons plus a number of bones from Marley’s stomach.
37-year-old Rachael believed that she’d left the decorations, which were in gift bags, “safely out of reach” from Marley.
As she stated, “Over the years Marley’s been no stranger to eating things he shouldn’t and usually they pass through. But this time he started acting strangely and looked like he was going into shock. He was violently sick and brought up some of the ribbons.”
Marley had to have two operations in order to remove the ribbons that had begun to cause a potentially fatal blockage.
PDSA senior vet Aoife Clancy said, “It was a lengthy, high-risk surgery. Marley’s chances of surviving the night were looking poor.”
She added, “Thankfully he pulled through but needed critical round-the-clock care for four days before he could go home.”
The PDSA said the treatment cost £2,000 or the USD equivalent of $2599, and the procedure was paid for by public donations.
Another dog owner from Ealing, west London, Gill Edwards, said her mini dachshund named Otto, ended up eating her pants – however, they passed through his system without causing any bad side effects.
She explained, “Impressive, as there was a fair amount of material involved and he’s only little. Yesterday it was the bobble off a Santa hat. Like some disgusting vending machine.”
As for Aoife the senior vet, she stated, “It’s important that owners make sure decorations and toxic Christmas foods are safe from curious paws.”
