11 May 2020
Foreign body removed from puppy's stomach after owners rushed to vets when a bell could be heard ringing as they picked her up.
James Westgate
Job Title
Nyxie swallowed a Chinese-style meditation ball.
A Labrador retriever puppy that started “ringing” after swallowing a meditation ball has been put back in tune by the team at North Downs Specialist Referrals (NDSR).
Suspicions grew that something was amiss when 10-month-old Nyxie was heard “jingling and jangling” as she ran into her owner’s sitting room.
A search confirmed a Chinese-style meditation ball (which has a bell inside) was missing and was, in all likelihood, now inside Nyxie – as when she was lifted and given a gentle shake, it could clearly be heard ringing from her stomach.
Despite not showing any adverse effects, owners rushed their pitch-perfect pup to their vet, who ran an x-ray before referring them to NDSR, where the team was able to remove the ball without resorting to surgery.
Internal medicine specialist Laura Macfarlane said: “X-rays from the referring vet showed a bright, circular object in Nyxie’s stomach, compatible with her having swallowed a ball.
“So, on arrival with us, we performed an endoscopy and this confirmed the ball was present in the stomach and, using a combination of the scope and a retrieval device, we were able to remove it without the need for surgery.”
She added: “Nyxie recovered really well and was back home later the same day. The big positive was that she’s a young dog and had been completely unaffected, apart from a slight jingling.”
The case was so unusual the team made a video of their treatment and recovery of the ball, along with a soundtrack of the procedure, which was provided by a cardiologist using a digital stethoscope to record the sound of the bell ringing.
