A hungry hound ended up needing emergency treatment after getting her tongue stuck in a can of tuna.
Bonnie, a ten-year-old Staffordshire Bull terrier cross, had been given her favourite fish as a teatime treat, but when her owner put the discarded tin in the recycling bin, Bonnie saw her chance for an extra helping.
Owner Louisa Davis, 45, from the Arboretum area of Nottingham, said: “We heard some scuffling in the kitchen and the next thing we saw was a tuna can stuck to her face. It was shocking to see.
Bonnie was becoming increasingly distressed and the stuck tin was causing her pain.
Louise took Bonnie to charity vets at Nottingham PDSA Pet Hospital in Dunkirk, which has been running an emergency service during the coronavirus lockdown.
“Her tongue was trapped in the can and I tried to remove it myself but the tin was so sharp I didn’t want to make it worse and badly cut her. I called PDSA to see if they could help, and they told me to bring her straight in,” she added.
PDSA vet Sarah Campbell explained that removing the can would be too risky to do with her awake as she was becoming more anxious so Bonnie was given an anaesthetic.
Sarah said: “Once she was under the anaesthetic the can was relatively easy to remove. We were able to carefully remove it so the cut to her tongue was small and luckily she didn’t need any stitches.
“It was a very unusual case to see, which could have become very serious if the tin had cut the tongue deeply. But thankfully we were able to remove the can safely and Bonnie was able to go home the same day to recover from her ordeal.”
Louisa, thanking the vets for the treatment Bonnie received, added: "Bonnie has never done anything like this before but it’s a lesson learnt and we’ll be keeping a close eye on her to avoid something like this happening again.”
Lockdown has thrown the charity into a crisis. The veterinary care – which is a lifeline to many owners across the UK – costs £60 million a year to run.
But with the charity shops having to close and fundraising events cancelled, the charity is losing around £3 million a month in income.
With the country plunged into financial uncertainly, and more than a million extra Universal Credit claims, PDSA expects the number of pets needing care will increase by around 50,000.
To support the charity donations can be made at pdsa.org.uk/appeal
