Saved by on-the-ball team

SOMETIMES you don’t know the value of a team until they have been put to the test.

Afternoon consultations had finished and a number of personnel had gathered in the prep room, as I was about to anaesthetise Oscar.

This pleasant Lhasa Apso had been presented earlier because he was snorting and sneezing in a manner that was reminiscent of a cat with a grass blade stuck up its nose.

I had never seen this before in a dog but his owner was content to go with my gut feeling, and so it came to pass that Oscar lay gently down on his side as the anaesthetic was administered.

I had just placed his endotracheal tube to allow him to be connected to oxygen when I heard a blood-curling yell from the waiting room.

I made eye contact with the registered veterinary nurse, who acknowledged that she would continue to monitor Oscar’s wellbeing, and bolted out to the source of the noise.

In the waiting area was a frantic lady who was holding a black Labrador in her arms.

The poor dog was flaccid, his head hung lifelessly to the side and his tongue was as black as his coat.

“He has a ball stuck in the back of his throat,” the owner explained. “I got here as quickly as I could.”

I grabbed the dog and ran to the prep room, closely followed by the panic-stricken lady.

As I lay him on the table, someone handed me a gag so I could safely keep his mouth open. Another passed me a ball of paper towel – crucial to wipe away saliva, which prevents you gripping.

A third person was at his chest, pushing down hard – much like the Heimlich manoeuvre – in an attempt to shift the ball, which was indeed wedged tightly, completely blocking the Labrador’s airways.

A fourth person appeared stage right, wheeling an oxygen trolley.

A fifth grabbed the corkscrew, which can be used to screw into the ball (or chewed up raw hide) to pull it out.

A sixth was standing with an endotracheal tube, hopefully to be inserted when the ball was removed.

In desperation, I pushed the fingers of my right hand under the angle of his jaw and clawed at the ball with my left hand.

It popped out. More saliva was aspirated and the tube placed.

He breathed. Five minutes later he walked out.

As did Oscar, after a fourinch grass blade was pulled out the back of his nose.