Dog has major surgery after swallowing ice lolly stick during heatwave

A five year old Shih Tzu was admitted to Grimsby Blue Cross animal hospital for major surgery after swallowing a stick from an ice lolly it found on the floor.

The vets first tried to make the dog regurgitate the stick using an endoscopy but despite being able to see the offending item, they could not remove it.

Tracy Nicholson, Blue Cross vet nurse at Grimsby animal hospital said: “We can’t blame Amy for trying to keep cool in this hot weather but there are safer ways to do it than gobbling up the remains of a lolly.

“When she first arrived she was happy and quite pleased with herself but she would have become very poorly and could even have died. Thankfully her owners saw what she did and we were able to save her.”

The dog, named Amy, has since made a full recovery and is back home with her family who are keeping their icy treats away from her.

Amy’s owner Zoe Weakley from Cleethorpes said: “As a nurse myself I knew swallowing the stick whole would not be good for Amy. She is quite a greedy dog and does tend to eat her food in one gulp so I’m not completely surprised she did this.

“We will be keeping an even closer eye on her from now on.”