Plea over littering around Chatteris school after dog needed emergency operation
A dog owner is calling on local schoolchildren to stop littering after her pet needed emergency surgery, landing her with a vet bill of nearly £6,000.
Fortunately, Lynda Plumtree from Chatteris had her Cocker Spaniel Ninja insured but that is little comfort having watched her nine-year-old pet suffer an operation to remove a peach stone embedded in his intestines.
Lynda, who runs her own dog toy business Nozey Pawz from home, explained Ninja is thought to have snaffled the peach stone without being seen as he was being walked in the area near the Cromwell Community College.
She said as a result Ninja started vomiting on Thursday and despite a check-up at the vet’s and an anti-sickness injection he was showing no signs of improvement by Saturday morning.
As a result, Lynda took Ninja to Johnson and Scott Veterinary Clinic at Witchford on Saturday morning where he underwent some tests including having an ultrasound which picked up two blockages in his intestine. He was also dehydrated and needed hydration therapy.
On Sunday Ninja was operated on to remove the peach stone from his small intestine, which had become wedged in tightly causing a back-up of food, which was the second blockage shown up on the ultrasound scan.
Lynda said: “Fortunately he is back home with us and recovering well, and thankfully he was insured. We don’t have much luck with pets so I always make sure they are insured – otherwise we would have had a bill of nearly £6,000 to pay.
“Ninja is feeling a bit sorry for himself, but other than that he is none the worse for what happened to him.
“He is a very well-trained dog, he competes in flyball and agility and will leave things when he’s told. Unfortunately, we didn’t see him pick up the peach stone which we think probably still had some flesh on it, so didn’t realise he had swallowed it.
“Our daily walks takes us past the Cromwell Community College, and my husband Matt has to be so watchful as there is so much food and litter dropped on the floor.
“It is easier to stop our other dog Liberty as she is taller, but Ninja is low to the ground and as his name suggests he is also fast and can grab something very quickly without us noticing.
“I would like to ask parents to encourage their children to put rubbish in the bins, there are plenty around. If I can encourage just one person not to litter then it is worth speaking out.
“Someone’s dog might not be so lucky next time, or it could even happen to a wild animal that does not have a human to look out for them.
“Even if a couple of people start thinking about being more careful how they dispose of rubbish and left over food etc it might help to stop this happening to another dog.”
