A NINE-month-old Lakeland Terrier called Louis from Surrey took more of a gamble than he realised when he swallowed a 1cm wide dice at his home in Godalming.

The dice became wedged in his intestine and had to be surgically removed by vet Georgie Wilkinson who is based at the Godalming branch of Pet Doctors. Georgie said that the dice was firmly embedded in his small intestine and causing a blockage that would have ultimately proved fatal if left untreated.

Louis, who is owned by the Coleman family from Witley, is normally a lively and fun-loving puppy but the family first noticed he was under the weather on Thursday 9th July when he started to suffer from vomiting and diarrhoea. At this stage, the Colemans also noticed that several toy soldiers owned by 5-year-old Oliver and 11-year-old Toby were missing. They took him to Pet Doctors, where with the aid of an X-ray, the vet realised that, while the toy soldiers had, indeed, been eaten and were passing through his intestine, they had then become totally blocked by a dice he’d also swallowed.

‘At this stage, I had no option but to operate,’ said Georgie. ‘The surgery went well but Louis was quite shocked by the whole experience and had to spend the night in our hospital in Woking. He is now recovering well at home but won’t be back to his normal self completely for several weeks.’
Lucie Coleman said: ‘The change in Louis from happy, bouncy puppy to sad little chap, obviously in great discomfort, was awful to see. When we realised the toy soldiers were missing in action, we suspected the worst, but we didn’t realise he’d swallowed the dice as well!

Georgie added: ‘Puppies are naturally curious about everything in the home, especially the toys our children play with. This case just goes to show the range of objects dogs will and can eat. The other important factor in this case was how quickly Mrs Coleman brought Louis into the clinic, meaning he could be treated quickly. We’re so glad the story has a happy ending for all concerned.’