Feasting on ‘foreign bodies’

I AM always astounded at how predictably the cycle of the seasons impacts on the cases we see.

In spring, when the pollen levels rise, we see animals with pollen allergies. On pleasant summer days when people are walking their pets, we see cut pads and muscle strains.

At the end of the summer, when the kennel population has been high through the holiday period, we see lots of kennel cough. And at Christmas, when we all tend to eat to excess, we see lots of animals with digestive upset.

This year has certainly remained true to the tradition although we have probably seen even more vomiting and diarrhoea this year than usual.

Changing diets over the Christmas period are a common culprit. Pet shops abound with Christmas stockings; many pet owners treat their pets to Christmas dinner or can’t resist giving their pet a little turkey on Christmas Day.

As the Christmas leftovers are slowly consumed by the family, people start to become concerned that the leftovers might have been sitting in the fridge for too long and so become wary about consuming them themselves. I have seen several animals that have been taken poorly when eating older Christmas leftovers.

Finally, we have seen lots of dogs this year with “foreign bodies”. This is the name we give to solid objects that, when swallowed scrape, puncture or become wedged in the stomach or intestines. Typically over the Christmas period we see objects such as bones, tinsel and gift wrapping but this year we have also seen a face cloth, a piece of foam rubber, a stone, a corn cob and a pair of underpants!

Our 24-hour emergency vets have been kept busy with an average of at least one “foreign body” case every day.

Most commonly we see them in younger dogs and often the greedier breeds such as Labradors on Spaniels. Preventing access to the material in the first place is always the best solution.