ROTT N CHATTER, February 1993, Volume 1 Number 7

 

                       KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE BALL

                           by KAREN DUNAWAY

 

Recently, an acquaintance of ours stopped by for a visit.  He told us that

he had just had his Collie put to sleep, and that it was one of the

toughest decisions he had ever made in his life.

 

The Collie had been a much-loved family pet and had always been healthy;

the family just couldn't understand why she had gotten so ill so quickly.

He explained that they found the dog in the kitchen vomiting one morning,

and that the vomiting continued through the day.  That evening, they took

her to the veterinarian, who checked her over, gave them some medication

for the vomiting, and sent her home.

 

Thinking that her condition needed to run its course, the family gave her

time to recover.  However, things got worse; every time she ate or drank,

she vomited.

 

A second trip to the veterinarian for a series of tests and x-rays turned

up nothing.  Since she was quite dehydrated at this point, she was given

intravenous fluids for the next two days.  The family picked up their

Collie on Friday, expecting that all was well.  That was not the case.

By Saturday night, the vomiting returned, and she would only lie still on

the kitchen floor. Signs of severe weakness were becoming apparent.

 

Since it was the weekend, they took their dog to the emergency clinic on

the other side of town.  Again, the tests and x-rays; again, no diagnosis.

Because of her dehydrated and weakened condition, the clinic hospitalized

her until her regular veterinarian opened on Monday.

 

Since no diagnosis could be made, the veterinarian suggested exploratory

surgery. They were warned that there was a great possibility that their

Collie wouldn't make it through the surgery because she was very weak.

There was also the added expense, perhaps up to $700, to consider.  A

decision had to be made - a decision that wouldn't be easy to live with.

Yes, they very much loved their pet, but the possibility of her recovery

was slim.  They very sadly said goodbye to their companion of many years.

Because this case was so strange, the  veterinarian asked permission to do

an autopsy at no cost to the family.  We talked to him a couple of days

later; as dog owners, we too, were curious about the results.

 

The veterinarian found a ball lodged in the intestine of the dog, totally

blocking any passage of food or drink.  Because of its consistency, it did

not show up on the x-ray.

 

My friend told us that they were quite confused by this discovery; they

never played ball with their dog and they did not even own a ball.  She had

not only found a ball , she had swallowed one, and it became lodged in her

intestine.

 

Ball playing is a daily game with our dogs.  We pick up the ball, throw it,

and the dogs bring it back.  When we eventually tire, the game stops.  But

what about the ball?  Out dogs love balls, and they have been allowed to

roam freely with their favorite ball in their mouths.  But no more.

 

If this could happen to a dog who never played ball, how easily could it

happen with a dog that plays ball daily?  We won't take the chance of the

same tragedy happening to our dogs that this poor Collie suffered.  There

are still lots of ball games at our house, but as soon as the games are

over, we're keeping our eye on the ball.

 

  **REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION  FROM DOG OWNER'S GUIDE DEC. 1992-FEB. 1993**

               A Canis Major Publication,  Cincinnati, OH.

 

EDITORS' NOTE:

I know of one Rottweiler that apparently swallowed part of a 'cow hoof' and

weeks later became similarly ill, further testing using BARIUM enhanced

xrays revealed a portion of the hoof lodged, undigested, in the intestine.

Along with small balls (including tennis balls) these popular products are

on the ROTT N CHATTER hazard toy list.