Whangārei dog with plastic bag in stomach has life-saving emergency operation

Onyx, owned by Onerahi woman Anne-Marie Sothern, is happy to be recovering at home after a plastic bag stuck in his small intestine nearly killed him. Sothern is urging pet owners to be careful what their pet eats. Photo / Tania Whyte

When Anne-Marie Sothern’s normally boisterous 10-month-old pup Onyx stopped eating and became lethargic, she know something was up - but she was shocked to discover he had swallowed a plastic bag that had become lodged in his intestine, needing urgent surgery to stop him from dying.

Now Sothern, from Whangārei, is issuing a warning to other pet owners to beware of what their animals are eating and to ensure no plastic is left around for them to consume.

The dangers of plastic in our oceans is well known, with marine mammals regularly being caught with plastic in their stomach, but Sothern said this is the first time she’s aware of an animal on land swallowing the pollutant.

Onyx is now back home and healthy and recovering from his ordeal, but it was touch and go for a while and Sothern is just grateful for the work of the vets at Mill Rd Vets for saving his life.

‘’This had the potential to be far worse, and if they didn’t give him the emergency surgery (last) Thursday , he wouldn’t have been alive on the Friday. I’m just so thankful they did the emergency operation,’’ she said.

Sothern did not see Onyx eat anything out of the ordinary and the ordeal started last week when she noticed he wasn’t eating or playing or as active as normal.

The plastic bag that was found in the small intestine of 10-month-old labrador/mastiff cross Onyx

‘’He’s a typical pup - into everything, always bouncing around. He’s great with the kids and we’ve got a small kitten that he loves to play with and is such an affectionate pup,’’ she says.

So after keeping an eye on him, she noticed he started dry-retching and was eating grass, then vomiting it back up, in what she believes was an effort to dislodge the blockage.

She took him to Mill Rd Vets, who examined Onyx and gave her some anti-nausea medication they hoped would get him to clear the blockage.

But, Sothern was told that if he did not improve, did not start eating, or got worse, she should take him back in.

So on that Thursday she took Onyx back in as he was getting worse.

‘’He was still trying to throw up and he just started shaking, and shaking. I thought ' That’s not good at all’ so I took him back.’’

Onyx, owned by Whangārei woman Anne-Marie Sothern, in the vets where a plastic bag was removed form his gut in an emergency operation

She went back home and got a call from the vets - who had to do an x-ray on Onyx - telling her the x-ray had revealed an obstruction in his small intestine and if it was not removed urgently he may not survive.

Sothern said she was shocked when it was discovered that the blockage was a plastic bag that Onyx must have eaten. Onyx is back home and nearing full health, but Sothern said her situation should serve as a salient warning for pet owners.

‘’Plastic is so bad and it can be a killer for pets like this. It may have been plastic from a meat pack that had traces on, it or a bag that contained something that a dog may like the smell of, I don’t know, but people need to be aware of what hard plastic is and how it can hurt, or even kill your pet.’’

Mill Rd Vet Hospital vet Dr Elaine McIlhinney, who was the first to see Onyx, said it can be very difficult to stop a young pup from chewing or eating things, especially labradors or lab crosses.

‘’They are very prone to chewing things, socks, things from the bin, food lying around, eating things from the compost, etcetera - some dogs can be real garbage guts. When I first saw Onyx we were not sure what had happened so I gave some anti-nausea medication and told Anne-Marie to bring him back if he didn’t improve,’’ she said.

Most times the anti-nausea medicaition was enough to sort out their issues.

McIlhinney said Onyx was a very lucky dog to have a good owner who did everything right when he became sick.

Whangārei woman Anne-Marie Sothern has issued a warning to pet owners after her labrador/mastiff cross Onyx needed emergency surgery to remove a plastic bag from his gut that would have killed him. Photo / Tania Whyte

She said pet owners could find out if their dog was prone to chewing things by regularly examining their poop - ‘’that’s really important’' - to see if there is anything unusual in it, such as string, cloth, toys and other inorganic items.

Owners should be careful not to leave items around that a chewing dog could take an interest in and it was important to give them other things to chew - such as a pig’s ear, rawhide of pet-friendly toys, keep them stimulated and give them regular walks.

Even with all that though, some dogs just can’t help themselves.

‘’We have one serial offender who loves socks. And I once had a dog that had swallowed a whole, hard-boiled egg. Others like to chew toys and a bit of plastic is something some dogs love to chew so owners need to be aware.’’

Mike Dinsdale is news director and a Northland-based senior journalist who covers general news. He has worked in Northland for almost 34 years and loves the region.