![Sandra](/upload/news/2023/08/07/83353.jpg)
While dog owner Sandra was filling up the paddling pool so her dogs could cool off on a warm June afternoon, she had no idea what Labrador Benji was up to. It turned out the mischief-maker had managed to sneak into the garage and discovered a bag of rubber ducks, which were left over from her son's swimming lessons, which he teaches. The food-obsessed pooch thought the ducks were a tasty snack - and managed to wolf down eight of them.
Sandra first noticed something was wrong when she took the five-year-old dog for his evening walk. She told The Mirror: "He was eating a lot of grass then he was quite badly sick and brought up a slightly chewed duck in the process. When we got home, he was sick twice more, and the second time he brought up four ducks.
"The next day he brought up another two, but he was still eating, drinking, and going to the toilet as normal. Then about 6.30pm he was sick all over the living room and I could just tell there was something more seriously wrong. So, I got in touch with Vets Now and they arranged for me to bring him in straightaway."
Benji managed to clear seven of the ducks from being sick, but the last one was lodged in his stomach, posing a serious threat to his life. The only way to remove it was through an emergency operation. This was made even trickier due to the fact that the dog underwent a similar surgery 18 months previously, after swallowing a squeaker from a dog toy.
Luckily, the surgery, which took place at Vets Now's clinic in Edinburgh, was a success. After two days of rest he was able to come home to his relieved owner. Sandra, who lives in Livingston, West Lothian, said: "A dog eating eight rubber ducks does I realise sound quite comical – but it was honestly no laughing matter at the time.
"It was actually really, really serious and I was very worried that Benji might not make it, especially given the surgery he’d had before. But the team at Vets Now were brilliant with him – and after a day or so back at home he was back to his usual self as though nothing had ever happened."
"Benji really is quite something. He’s just a riot and is definitely a one-off. He's also really, really cunning when it comes to eating things he shouldn’t. Believe it or not, he once managed to unzip my son Euan's schoolbag and eat through his homework – which has got to be one of the few times that the 'dog ate my homework' excuse has actually been true!"
Vets Now's vet surgeon Fiona Selby said: "The duck was removed from the mid-section of Benji's bowel called the jejunum. There's no doubt it was potentially life threatening if had he not had surgery – he was at serious risk of the duck perforating his bowel.
"And that could have led to multi-organ failure caused by sepsis from the contents of his gut being released into the abdomen. He was in surgery for nearly an hour, which shows how serious it was."
Fiona added: "I have to say, In my ten years qualified I've frequently seen cases of pets eating unusual or strange objects - but I can honestly say I have never had a case of a rubber duck before!"