Honey Howes has been awarded the Fromus Vet Group’s

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2006 PET OF THE MONTH AWARD

Honey is a one year old Labrador with a smiley face, a permanently wagging tail and an unfortunate tendency to eat things that perhaps she shouldn’t! One night she began to vomit, and threw up three large stones, and her owner began to worry. By the following morning, after a night of vomiting, Honey was looking very sorry for herself, and so her owner made an appointment and brought her to the practice.

Due to the fact that Honey had vomited three large stones and was known for her unusual eating habits, the vet decided to give her a general anaesthetic and take some X-rays. The X-rays clearly showed a big, round object in the small intestine (gut) – it was likely to be another stone!

When a foreign body such as a stone is swallowed, it can become stuck in the stomach or small intestine. This causes vomiting as food cannot get past the blockage. It also damages the intestines, and bacteria and digested food can leak from the intestines into the abdomen, causing septicaemia (blood poisoning), peritonitis (inflammation of all the internal organs), and even death. It was important that an operation was carried out to remove the stone as soon as possible.

Honey was prepared for theatre. Her abdomen (tummy) was shaved and cleaned. She was put on intravenous fluids (a drip) to help her body cope with the long procedure ahead. She was also given intravenous antibiotics to reduce the chances of any serious infection. Strong painkillers were also administered.

Honey was taken to the operating theatre for surgery. Her abdomen was opened surgically so that the vet could examine her intestines. The stone was located, and her intestine was opened so that it could be removed, then repaired with very small dissolvable stitches. Luckily for Honey her intestines had suffered very little damage, probably because her owner had realised that this was an emergency and brought her to the practice so quickly.

As Honey had undergone a major operation with a long anaesthetic, she spent the afternoon after the surgery laying on her bed and sleeping. We all watched carefully, and waited with baited breath, hoping that this friendly little dog was going to be okay. By the following morning, Honey was standing in her kennel wagging her tail, with an expression as if to say “Where’s my breakfast?”!

Honey came on in leaps and bounds, making a speedy recovery from her surgery, and even tried to eat her drip before the vet could remove it! She went home the day after the surgery, and has made a full recovery, and despite the big operation that this brave girl went through, her friendly personality and wagging tail have been unaffected.
(Sadly, neither has her appetite for stones!)

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