A greedy dog glued his mouth shut after rifling through his owner's rubbish bin in search for snacks. The cocker spaniel puppy, named Bleu, just couldn't help himself after watching owner Cali Coulson throw all sorts of 'treats' into the trash.
However, he learned a valuable lesson to stay away from the rubbish bin after chewing through a tube of superglue and landing himself at the vets. The 20-weeks-old pup had to be sedated so vets could assess the back of his throat and airways to ensure no glue had been swallowed. He was given swabs soaked in olive oil to gently dissolve all the glue from his lips, teeth and tongue, allowing him to open his mouth again.
After 20 minutes under sedation while the procedure was carried out, Bleu came around as if nothing had happened and was discharged with minimal aftercare needed, just advice to his owner to monitor him closely and feed him a soft diet.
Dr Robert Dorward, practice owner and veterinary surgeon at Vets4Pets Bedlington, said: "Bleu was a very lucky puppy as superglue can be very dangerous if swallowed.
"Thankfully, he was brought in to us quickly and I was able to draw on knowledge from an emergency medicine course, to immediately use olive oil to remove the glue from his mouth.
"If that trick didn’t work, Bleu would have needed extensive surgery to his mouth and tongue to remove the glue and would have ended up with an intensive recovery period over several months.
"It always puts a smile on my face when we’re able to help a beloved pet make a speedy recovery and cases like this make me incredibly proud of our brilliant team and clinical facilities here in Bedlington."
According to Dr Robert, this is far from the strangest item the veterinary team has seen a dog eat, adding: "The strangest thing we had in practice was a dog who ate a whole set of Christmas tree lights – we really do see it all.
"We'd always recommend visiting your vet if you're worried your dog may have eaten something they shouldn't have and advise you look out for warning signs such as groaning, a gurgly tummy, or an inability to keep down food or fluids."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
