Labrador rushed to hospital after eating his entire lead

A Labrador has been rushed to hospital after eating his entire lead while his owners were not looking.

Max the dog made a meal of it during a 15-minute car journey, leaving nothing but the metal end behind.

Owners Brian and Christine Hillman from Newport, Wales, took him to an emergency animal clinic for urgent treatment.

A team of specialists worked quickly to recover the lead, which had been chewed into neat 5cm strips.

Ms Hillman, 54, said that although Max was prone to chewing on items of clothing, it was the first time he had actually gobbled up something off limits.

Describing Max as “prone to getting hold of things and having a good chew”, she said: “He is always at the socks and knickers from the washing, although he just bites holes in them, he’s never actually eaten any.

“So, we never for a moment thought he’d do anything as crazy as eat his lead.”

Seven-year-old Max has had previous health issues and was on his way to a hydrotherapy session before Mr Hillman spotted the missing lead and headed straight to the nearby Vets Now centre.

“It’s only about a 15-minute journey but when Brian went to get him out, all that was left was the metal end of the lead,” said Ms Hillman.

“He checked the car and the car park just in case but there was no trace so it was obvious he’d started chewing on it and then just ate the whole thing.”

The team at the clinic – which is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week – said it was the first time they had ever seen a dog ingest an entire lead.

Laura Playforth, Vets Now’s professional standards director, said: “This was an unusual case to say the least.

“Some foreign objects are small enough to pass through a dog’s system without causing any problems but others can get stuck causing dogs to become seriously ill quite quickly.

“These intestinal obstructions often require surgery which poses its own risks.

“However, in Max’s case, because we knew he’d only recently swallowed the lead we were confident inducing vomiting would bring it back up.

“His case just goes to show some dogs, particularly labs, will eat almost anything.”

Ms Hillman said that although Max was initially a bit queasy when he returned home, he has since returned to his old self.

“The Vets Now team were brilliant, so caring and nice,” she said.

“Max was a bit queasy when we got him home and it took three of us to get him out of the car, but, thankfully he was soon back to his old self.

“It’s still hard to believe what he did. We take no chances now and have both dogs off their leads when they get in the car.”

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