Dog Who Ate More Than Homework Wins 2011 Radiography of the Year Award for Vet

Veterinary Practice News announced the winners to its fifth annual 2011 Radiography of the Year Awards. VPN received dozens of X-rays and stories from vets, vet students and veterinary technicians, proving that pets will eat anything, even if it has been nailed to the floor.

This year's judge was Matt Wright, DVM, Dipl. ACVR. The Grand Prize winner scored a digital single-lens reflex camera and bragging rights. About ten runners-up received a more traditional point-and-shoot camera.

Drumroll Please

This year's grand prize winner went to Vanessa Hawksin, DVM of Bayshore Animal Hospital in Oregon. A dog with an enormous appetite (and owners who wish to remain anonymous) developed an unusual limp in a hind leg. While x-raying to find the cause of the lameness, eyes widened as Dr. Hawksin showed nine huge spheres in the dog's abdominal cavity. She surgically removed nine handballs from the dog. One handball, depending if it is for men or women, is anywhere from 54 to 60 cm in circumference.

The Canine Buffet

The first runner up was the remarkable appetite of a 12-year-old beagle named Wailen, who probably did just that by the time he was X-rayed at Eaglewood Cliffs Veterinary Center in New Jersey. It is unknown just how long these objects stayed in Wailen's digestive system. Surgery removed shoelaces, bristles from a car brush used to clean off snow, knee high stockings, plastic ties, garden mulch and a plastic plant.

Other items swallowed by dogs and puppies included a 2-inch sewing needle; a training collar bitten off of another dog; 10 baby bottle nipples; spoons, a game board; a plastic toy dinosaur; a bottle of Gorilla glue that expanded to make a perfect stomach-shaped rock and, perhaps most startling of all - one owner's false teeth.

Other Animals

Dogs dominated the contest entries, but one of the top ten finishers was a duck that just couldn't keep out of trouble. Two-year-old Penelope developed a really bad craving - for nails. She had to go under the knife twice in 2010 for her nail-biting-and-swallowing habit.

Not to be outdone was a 6-month-old kitten named Keelee, owned by a guitar player. While restringing his guitar, Keelee decided to swallow a string. The owner tried to pull the string out of Keelee's mouth, but it wouldn't budge. The owner then wisely decided to take the kitten to the Sherbrook Animal Hospital in Manitoba, Canada. The guitar string was successfully removed via surgery.

References

Veterinary Practice News. "They Ate What? 2011 X-Ray Contest Winners." September 20, 2011. http://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/vet-cover-stories/they-ate-what-2011-x-ray-contest-winners.aspx?cm_mmc=4996256

Team handball News. "Handball FAQ." http://teamhandballnews.com/handball-faq/