Dog Eats Baker's Dozen of Golf Balls

A dog had to have 13 golf balls removed from its stomach after eating them while on walks around a golf course in Fife, Scotland.

The owner, Chris Morrison, had been taking his five-year-old black labrador, Oscar, around the Pitreavie golf course in Dunfermline for several months.

After hearing a rattling sound coming from the dog's stomach, he took Oscar to the vet.

They then discovered that 13 golf balls -- each weighing about 45 grams (about 1.6 ounces) -- were in the dog's stomach.

Mr Morrison, a planning administrator, said one of the golf balls had been in his stomach so long that it had turned black and was decomposing.

He said: "He finds golf balls like truffles. We're not sure how long exactly this happened over, but it must have been a fair period - several months at least.

"I felt his stomach and heard them rattling around. He normally brings a few home, but I had no idea he had eaten so many. The vet hadn't seen anything like it; it was bizarre. He is a black lab so he is a fair size, but to swallow 13 is quite amazing."

The balls were removed by the veterinarian two weeks ago in a successful operation that took about an hour.

Oscar is now on the road to making a full recovery on a special post-operation diet of watered-down food until the incision heals.

He also has to wear a muzzle while out and about.

Mr Morrison added: "He does get a bit frustrated now and again."

Bob Hesketh, 40, the principal vet at Vetrica in Rosyth, said he had never seen anything like it.

He said: "It was like a magic trick. I opened him up and felt what I thought were two or three golf balls. But they just kept coming until we had a bag full. I think they must have been in there for several months, one was all black and the shell was swollen."

For more information on protecting your dog's health, click here.

source: BBC News