Hungry Galway hound swallows barbeque meat – skewer and all

A Galway vet issued a special appeal this week for householders to keep summer party food away from pets after a family’s dog got more than he bargained for when he made off with a skewer from a barbecue.

Ten year old Woody felt poorly for a week and made two visits to the vet before it was discovered that he had eaten the barbecued treat – including a wooden skewer.

The stick perforated Woody’s stomach and then began to make its way out through his rib cage almost a week after he had swallowed it at the family home in Loughrea.

“This dog has a history of eating what he should not be eating,” said Dr Jim Smyth of the Railway Veterinary Clinic this week.

“We have treated him successfully in the past. The family brought him in the previous weekend, but they did not know that he had eaten the kebab or the skewer at that stage. The piece of timber did not show up in an ultrasound scan.”

After the skewer began to come out through Woody’s rib cage late last week, the family got in touch with Dr Smyth again – and he operated on the dog successfully on Sunday morning.

“I did not know what I was going to find when I opened him up,” said Dr Smyth. “The skewer was sticking out of his side. He was not quite himself all last week, but he had not been seriously sick either.

“The family must have got a shock when they saw the skewer protruding from his body. It is amazing what can happen but, thankfully, he didn’t pick up a serious infection. He was able to go home after I kept him in for a few days.”

Dr Smyth said it was clear the family, the Kilraines, did not even know that Woody had helped himself to the kebab the previous weekend – along with the entire wooden skewer.

“After a week, it perforated his stomach and then tried to make its way out through his body wall,” said Dr Smyth. “He needed major surgery to have it removed and was exceptionally lucky that there was no serious damage done.”

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.