On Monday evening, December 27, an adorable four-year-old brindle and white Jack Russel Terrier Cross named Dexter almost died after swallowing a generous portion of mielie cob that became lodged in his gut.
According to Nuriyah Muller, Dexter’s owner, he snatched the partially eaten mielie cob off her 10-year-old daughter’s dinner plate that she left on her bedside table and swallowed it before she could intervene.
Her daughter immediately alerted her and she desperately tried to get him to regurgitate the piece of mielie cob without success. After a very long and stressful night worrying about Dexter, Nuriyah decided to seek the Animal Welfare Society of SA’s help and was waiting in their parking area by the time they opened their doors.
At this stage, Dexter was in obvious discomfort and in need of emergency surgery to remove the mielie cob that had become awkwardly lodged in his stomach.
“A short while later Dexter was wheeled into theatre where the vet quickly discovered and removed the mielie cob as well as two plastic bread bag tags that we suspect he swallowed months earlier,” says the Animal Welfare Society of SA.
The tags had already perforated Dexter’s intestines and had it not been for this latest surgery, the likelihood of it causing him life-threatening complications was guaranteed.
“Dexter is still in intensive care and appears to be doing well and we are hopeful that he will be reunited with his concerned and grateful family well before his 5th birthday that he celebrates on the 25th March next year,” concludes the Animal Welfare Society of SA.
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Picture/s: Supplied