A dog in Scotland is lucky to be alive after chowing down on eight rubber ducks, apparently mistaking the common bath toy for a not-so-tasty snack.
The labrador, Benji, had spent a sunny June day cooling off in a pool, and the day’s exertions seemingly helped him work up an enormous appetite. Sneaking into the family garage, Benji happened upon a bag of pool toys containing rubber ducks and subsequently downed eight of them, unbeknownst to his owner Sandra, The Mirror reported.
Later, during his evening walk, Benji ate a lot of grass and revisited a partially devoured duck, giving Sandra the first indication something was amiss, the outlet continued. “When we got home, he was sick twice more, and the second time he brought up four ducks,” Sandra told The Mirror.
#Headlinechallenge: Benji, the labrador, is recovering from an emergency operation in #Edinburgh, after scoffing 8 rubber ducks he mistook for a snack…YOU CAN THANK YOUR DUCKY STARS (COS YOU’RE NOT AS SMART AS YOU’D LIKE TO THINK YOU ARE) #deanfriedmanhttps://t.co/g1MMLIKhrK
— Peter Barron (@BarronMedia) August 7, 2023
“The next day he brought up another two, but he was still eating, drinking, and going to the toilet as normal,” Sandra added. “Then about 6:30 p.m. he was sick all over the living room and I could just tell there was something more seriously wrong.” (RELATED: ‘Psycho Gulls’: British Sea Birds Rob Stoners, Get High On Synthetic Weed)
A trip to the vet in Edinburgh found Benji had one last rubber duck lodged in his stomach, a life-threatening situation that required the pooch to undergo emergency surgery. “The duck was removed from the mid-section of Benji’s bowel called the jejunum. There’s no doubt it was potentially life threatening if had he not had surgery – he was at serious risk of the duck perforating his bowel,” surgeon Fiona Selby told The Mirror.
Benji’s surgery was a success, much to Sandra’s relief, who told the outlet he was back to his usual self within a few days.
“Benji really is quite something,” Sandra said. “He’s just a riot and is definitely a one-off. He’s also really, really cunning when it comes to eating things he shouldn’t. Believe it or not, he once managed to unzip my son Euan’s schoolbag and eat through his homework – which has got to be one of the few times that the ‘dog ate my homework’ excuse has actually been true!”