French Bulldog saved by vets after swallowing rubber duck

French Bulldog saved by vets after swallowing rubber duck French Bulldog TJ had been behaving bizarrely for weeks before vets made the astonishing discovery A lucky dog was saved by vets after swallowing an entire rubber duck. The nine-year-old French Bulldog called TJ was forced to have emergency surgery after he wolfed down the yellow plastic toy and it became stuck inside him. His worried owners had no idea their beloved pet had even swallowed the 6cm (2.3ins) duck, which he has played with since he was a puppy, until stunned vets spotted it on an X-ray. Libby and Joe Burgwin rushed TJ to Severn Edge vets in Telford, Shropshire., when he started being repeatedly sick and suffered with laboured breathing. It is believed the duck was wedged in his stomach for at least a month before he faced any issues. Libby, 28, who works as a chief operating officer for a financial technology firm, said: "We couldn't believe it when we saw the X-ray. "There were no bite marks, he just swallowed it whole. It was unreal. He has always been a fiend for stealing things that he shouldn't steal but there were a few weeks where he wasn’t quite himself in July. “It may even have started in May or June. After dinner he has a dental chew. If you don’t give it to him he will come and yap for them. But in the last few months, when we gave them to him he would go and bury them or be defensive. “I took him to the vets to check his teeth but they said he was fine. Then he was being sick in the morning, but Frenchies can be like that. We kept an eye on it and there was one night where he was sick multiple times, so we took him to the vets again." “The vets said he had aspirational pneumonia where he's inhaled their own sick, which for Frenchies can be quite common because of their short nose. “They said something is going to be causing him to be sick this often. They wanted to do an X-ray and then an ultrasound. We proceeded with the X-ray. They said don’t expect a call for an hour and it would be a good few hundred quid. “Within five minutes of getting home they called, and then we panicked. In the very first X-ray you could see the duck so clearly. The head vet called us and said, ‘We’ve done one X-ray, we don’t need to do anymore, have you lost any rubber ducks?’ They said this was the weirdest thing they’d ever seen a dog swallow.” The couple usually buy the 6cm x 6cm rubber ducks in packs of 12 for £12 on Amazon. Vets removed the duck during surgery and discovered it had shrunk to just 3cm and had lost its iconic yellow coating. The whole procedure cost £3,500 to complete, but the couple are fully insured. Libby, of Telford, added: “Ever since he’s been a puppy he’s been obsessed with them. "We buy packs of them and we play hide and seek. They’re palm-sized, so you don’t think he’d eat it or be able to, but he won’t be having any more now. “We have no idea how he swallowed it or how he got it down, how we didn’t notice it because he must have been in some pain. They said it was almost lucky it was so big because it couldn’t move to his stomach. “They said it had been in there a few weeks, it was rock solid, shrunk and fully black - all the yellow had been stripped out of it. It’s crazier that it didn’t make him sicker, he was eating every day and going for walks, but there weren’t any signs. “We were so shocked, I can't believe this hasn’t happened before. He’s always been a dog who steals and hide things, but he’s never eaten anything like this. “There were no bite marks at all, so he must have eaten it all. He was only at the vets a few hours. We took him in at 11am, then 4pm we picked him up. “He’s absolutely fine now. The first five days were absolutely intense because he wasn’t eating at all as he’s such a food-driven dog. By day five he was back to his normal self, bouncing about. "We had to make sure he wasn’t jumping because of his stomach. All the ducks have been removed. Maybe I’ll treat him to a big one one day. Me and Joe have kept one each as a memory of the event.” Hannah Plant, head veterinary surgeon at Severn Edge Veterinary Group, said: "While it may sound unusual, dogs swallowing foreign objects is something vets see more often than many people realise. "Curious dogs, particularly younger dogs and breeds that enjoy chewing, can sometimes ingest items that can become lodged in the stomach or intestines and cause serious health complications. “This case had a positive outcome thanks to the prompt action from the owners and rapid diagnosis by our veterinary team. We're delighted the dog recovered well. "Our advice to pet owners is to seek veterinary attention if they suspect their pet has swallowed something they shouldn't have. "Early intervention can make a significant difference to the outcome and helps ensure pets receive the care they need as quickly as possible.”