Clanfield dog's life saved after apple lodges 35cm down oesophagus as vet issues windfall fruit warning

Hebe, a 15-month-old Cocker Spaniel from Clanfield, was rushed to hospital after wolfing down an apple in her back garden. The pooch was left drooling, choking and terribly distressed when her worried owners – Karen and Ben Crookshank – rushed their beloved pet to St Peter’s Vets, Petersfield, for emergency treatment.

Mrs Crookshank said the apple fell from a tree. She usually removes them but Hebe clutched it in her mouth and ran off.

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She added: ‘When she started choking it was very scary and the apple was clearly stuck. She was making funny gulping noises – a bit like someone who’s swallowed a fizzy drink too fast – and then she started retching and being sick. I was very worried about her, and it didn’t help it was two years to the day we’d lost another of our beloved dogs, Elsa, who was 14.’

Matt Tyler, clinical director of the St Peter’s Road medical practice, found the apple firmly wedged 35cm down Hebe’s oesophagus. Mr Tyler said: ‘The oesophagus narrows before it reaches the stomach, and the apple had become lodged.

‘We could see it using our endoscope, which is a long thin tube containing a camera we passed carefully into Hebe’s throat. Because of the apple’s smoothness and size, we decided to bring it back up the way it went it in, rather than pushing it down into the stomach.’

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Mr Tyler said the procedure took an hour and he used a tool which passes through the endoscope to pull the fruit out. He added if it was left for much longer, it could have caused permanent damage.

‘Hebe was much happier and more comfortable as soon as the apple had been removed,’ he said. ‘It hadn’t obstructed her windpipe, so she could breathe, but it would have been very unpleasant to have something stuck in her throat and she wouldn’t have been able to eat properly.

Mr Tyler said: ‘There is a lot of fallen fruit around because of the wet and windy weather, and if there’s a risk of your dog eating an apple, it’s best to remove any from your garden or keep an eye out if you walk your pet near fruit trees.’