My Dog Ate a Shoe!

I had just finished a morning of surgery when Mandy, our receptionist, came into the
operating toom to ask a question. Mrs. T. was on the phone; one of her two dogs ate a boat shoe and she didn't know if she should be concerned.

"You mean she chewed on it?" I asked Mandy.

"No, she ate the whole thing," she said.

"Well, if Mrs. T thinks she ate the whole thing, maybe it's just missing," I surmised.

"No, she found the sole, but all the leather is missing," Mandy corrected me.

"Yes, she needed to be concerned, let me talk to her," I replied.

I suggested she give both dogs something to make them vomit, and if that didn't produce the missing footwear, we should see them as soon as possible.

Early that afternoon Mr. and Mrs. T. brought Trixi and Lakota in to see my associate
Dr. Kasie Podojil. The technicians took x-rays of each pooch to see if we could tell which one ate the shoe.

Five metal eyelets showed up on Trixi's film and five on her partner in crime, Lakota's film.

At least they shared, I thought.

Dr. Podojil administered a medication that causes vomiting to see if she could recover the missing shoe. Trixi quickly evacuated the contents of her stomach, wagged her tail. She was sent home with the hope she sticks to eating dog food in the future.

Lakota was not going to be so easy. After a double dose of the emetic we were no closer to emptying her stomach than when we started. We could see there was too much material in the stomach to safely let her pass it, so surgery was her option.

That afternoon, I took Lakota to surgery. Time is important when treating a foreign
body ingestion. If the material passes out of the stomach and into the small intestine I would have to make multiple incisions into the bowel. This increases the risk of complications.

Lakota's best chance was for me to remove all the material through one incision in the stomach. I caught a break because the T's brought her in so quickly all the material was still in her stomach. The techs ran an EKG to check for heart problems, and then placed an IV to maintain her hydration and support her cardiovascular function.

At surgery, I removed approximately three cups of shredded leather from her stomach.  The technicians sorted through the material and confirmed that I had recovered all five metal eyelets. After a quick check of the rest of her bowel, I was satisfied that I had removed everything and closed her up.

I sent her home that evening and she is recovering nicely.

The T’s are devoted pet guardians. If not for their diligence this would have had a tragic ending. I know Trixi and Lakota have a house full of safe chew toys; I’ll never know what made an old boat shoe so appealing.