What do you do when you’re a dog and you’re bored and you’re outside lying in the garden, watching your “mom” work? Well, of course, you eat stones!! What makes dogs eat weird, inedible things? Unfortunately, we don’t know the answer, but maybe if Misty could talk, we would know.

          Misty is a 6 year old female, spayed longhaired dachshund. From the photo you can see that she is very cute and she’s just as personable. One day last month, she came to our hospital with abdominal pain and bloating. She was lethargic but still eating (some dogs, it seems, never quit eating - for any reason!). She also has been an epileptic for some time and was taking seizure medication. Look at the x-rays and see what your diagnosis is. If you see five white smooth objects in the front of her abdomen, then you’re seeing stones. We couldn’t tell for sure if they were in the stomach or intestines, but we guessed stomach, since she wasn’t obstructed.

          So, Misty was taken to surgery and her stomach was opened to reveal five smooth landscape stones (each between 1” and 2”) with some smaller gravel and also another surprise. What didn’t show up on the x-ray was a long string which we found out later, was from a pork roast the family had eaten two weeks earlier. Luckily, the string hadn’t progressed further along into the intestines.  String foreign bodies can cut through the intestines or can bunch them up, causing an obstruction. The surgery progressed without problems she was given intravenous fluids for 24 hours and antibiotics and is now doing quite fine.

          What’s the moral of the story? Never trust your dog! Always be sure garbage cans are securely fastened, and that no food, drugs, cigarettes, drinks, etc are left out for the dog to consume. Over the years, we have removed carpet, stones, panties, handkerchiefs, tinsel, small toys, metal balls, hooks, needle and thread, coins, rings, corn cobs,  and more from animal stomachs. So beware, that anything is fair game to your pet!

          But, “all’s well that ends well” and Misty is back to playing and enjoying life. Good luck to Misty and her family.