Sepsis warning after family trip to dog beach strikes down labradoodle

The labradoodle's intestines were left bulging after it ate sand. Photo / Facebook

A labradoodle has come dangerously close to incurring a fatal bout of sepsis after spending a seemingly innocent day at the beach.

After a few hours of playing fetch, Dolly's family took her home but within a few hours, they noticed something was seriously wrong.

"She was clearly uncomfortable, grouchy and couldn't keep anything down," her owner Chelsea Finn, from London in the UK, wrote to Facebook earlier this month.

When her symptoms didn't improve, Dolly was rushed to an out-of-hours emergency vet, Finn said.

"Luckily we did as she had sand impacted in her intestines … she was completely blocked up," she said.

Dolly's bulging intestines were obvious in a photo of an X-ray Ms Finn included in the post.

The labradoodle's intestines were left bulging after it ate sand. Photo / Facebook

"We were told she'd most likely need an operation and a long recovery and the chance of sepsis," she wrote.

Despite the haunting prognosis, Dolly managed to avoid needing surgery and has since returned home.

"We were lucky after two nights in the vets and lots of TLC she was discharged," Finn said.

Vets told the family the blockage had been caused by sand Dolly ingested each time she collected her ball at the beach.

"We never thought something like this could happen and wanted to make people aware to prevent this from happening to anyone else, Finn said.

"She is now perfectly well and we are so thankful."

More than 15,000 people commented on the post, many expressing how they too often played fetch with their dog and weren't aware of the risks associated with sand.