Andover woman thanks Winchester vets who saved dog's life

Helen Harvey’s nine-year-old beagle, Marmite, needed an operation lasting several hours to remove the troublesome food after wolfing it down. Part of their intestine had to be removed in order to save the dog’s life.

Helen is now hoping to warn others of the barbecue dish’s danger to animals, saying everyone should keep an eye on their dog’s diet.

She said: “I know of a neighbour whose Labrador had to be put to sleep after eating a corn on the cob, so they can be so dangerous.

“Try and be as vigilant as you can and definitely get help just as soon as you can if you suspect they’ve eaten one of these.”

Helen and her family first took in Marmite when he was three years old, and found that he had a history of eating so-called foreign objects, including socks. As a result, they always tried to keep a close eye on him while walking.

However, at the age of five, Marmite had his first brush with death after eating a corn-on-the-cob he’d found in a discarded fast-food container. On that occasion he needed urgent veterinary treatment to remove it, but was otherwise fine.

However, when Marmite found his second corn snack earlier, things were much more serious – though the symptoms didn’t begin for several weeks.

“I actually cried walking home as I thought it would cause him problems, but nothing seemed to be wrong with him to begin with,” Helen said.

“Then he suddenly started being really sick. He was sick seven or eight times, real projectile vomiting that went everywhere.”

Helen phoned Vets Now, a Winchester vets, at 1am, and she says “it was a real godsend” to have them available.

“I was told to take him straight down to the clinic and it was a really worrying journey,” she said. “He was so ill that I really thought I was going to lose him this time.”

The cob had been floating around Marmite’s digestive system, as it can’t be broken down by a dog’s body. After several weeks, it had become lodged in their small intestine, and was blocking up his internal organs.

Molly Wilson, who is a vet nurse at the Vets Now clinic, said: “Marmite was in a lot of pain and retching badly when he was brought in.

“We stabilised him and performed various tests which highlighted there was a high chance of an obstruction in the small intestine.

“We kept a close eye on him overnight and, thankfully, he remained stable enough to be transferred back to his daytime practice, Foxcotte Vets, the next morning.”

Later that day, Marmite underwent a four-hour operation to remove the corn-on-the-cob that involved cutting away a few inches of his intestine. He then returned to Vets Now for further post-operative care.

Molly added: “In the end, he was very lucky to survive. There was a risk of complications, and the operation to remove the cob came with its own dangers.

“But Marmite’s case was a great example of the Vets Now team working together with one of our daytime partner practices to save a life.”

Thankfully, the operation and all the ongoing care were a success and Marmite is now back to his old self.

After a double drama involving corn-on-the-cob, Helen admits she is more cautious than ever about what Marmite may be able to get hold of.

“I was most impressed by the level of care and customer service that I received at Vets Now,” she said. “Both vet Jacek and vet nurse Molly were brilliant.

“I know of a neighbour whose Labrador had to be put to sleep after eating a corn on the cob, so they can be so dangerous,” said Helen. “Try and be as vigilant as you can and definitely get help just as soon as you can if you suspect they’ve eaten one of these.”

If you believe your pet has swallowed something that could cause a blockage, it is advised that you should get in touch with a vet, or out-of-hours clinic, as soon as possible to ensure the best outcome.