AN owner and his black lab breathed a sigh of relief after a specialist vet dislodged a wheat spike stuck in the dog’s lung that was blocking his airwaves.
Rob Gardiner, from Chester, was left ‘amazed’ after the vet at Northwest Veterinary Specialists (NWVS) in Sutton Weaver removed the still-intact ear of wheat from inside his one-year-old pup, Riley.
Harry Warwick, an internal medicine clinician at the practice, was able to avoid surgery by using an endoscope to retrieve the two-inch wheat spike.
Rob said: “I was amazed when Harry showed me the ear of wheat. I couldn’t believe how big it was and just looked at it thinking how, how, how?
“I’ve even kept it in a tube as a memento. It’s one thing telling people how big it was but showing them is the best way to get a reaction.”
The incident occurred after a rural walk where Rob said Ryley disappeared for only 10-seconds before emerging with his fur covered in seeds.
“We spent ages trying to remove them. They were all in his fur, in his eyes and up his nose.
“Then he started coughing, eventually coughing up blood, so that evening we took him to the emergency 24-hour vets at Ellsmere Port, but they couldn’t find anything.”
After noticing Riley was off his food, lacking energy and ‘mooching around’, Rob took him to his local vets, The Storrar Practice in Boughton, where the vet noticed something was trapped deep in his airwaves.
They were then referred to the NWVS where Rob said Harry ‘saved the day’.
Harry added: “Riley arrived with a suspected foreign body in his airwaves, so we carried out a CT scan which confirmed a wheat spike was lodged in his lung.
“We performed a bronchoscopy – a camera into the airways – but it was a challenging retrieval as it was difficult to get good traction with the forceps.
“Thankfully, the whole piece was finally removed intact, and Riley’s coughing resolved over the next few days, and he is now back to normal with his activity levels and enjoying his walks again.”
Rob hopes Riley’s unique experience will be an important reminder to dogs and their owners about the dangers of pets inhaling wheat spikes and grass awns while out on walks in the countryside.
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