Labrador Howie swallowed 15-inch skewer '“ and lived

The Fareham pet got the skewer stuck in its stomach after grabbing it off a kitchen worktop.

The utensil had chicken and vegetables on it and the eight-year-old dog swallowed it whole while owner Sue Woodward had briefly turned her back.

The 45-year-old said: ‘We were getting ready for a barbecue and my husband Ian had marinated chicken. But Howie just swallowed it like a sword.

‘It was a like a vacuum cleaner. He just jumped up, grabbed it from the worktop and hoovered it up.

‘Ian had made two of these kebabs – so I whipped the second one out of the way.

‘I said to Ian, “Howie’s just eaten one of your skewers”.’

Sue, a software engineer, rushed Howie to Vets Now pet emergency service in Portsmouth where medical staff checked his stomach and did x-rays which clearly showed the skewer inside him.

Luckily, they managed to remove it without having to resort to surgery.

The skewer is not the only object chocolate Labrador Howie has eaten. He has previously eaten Venetian blinds, underwear, socks and kitchen sponges.

Mum-of-one Sue added: ‘We’ve had Howie eat all sorts of things before and he once ate a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts he’d managed to grab.

‘We came home from work once and he’d chewed his way through the Venetian blinds. Another time he broke into his own food cupboard while we were out and ate every bit of his dried food.

‘But the chicken skewer is definitely the most dramatic incident we’ve had. It could have been very serious for Howie if it had punctured something.

‘The staff at Vets Now were really kind and really great with Howie.’

Carlos Entisne, principal vet at Vets Now in Farlington, said Howie was lucky to be alive.

‘Thankfully, Howie made a full recovery and was able to go home the following morning,’ he said.

‘But he was lucky to survive. This is the type of incident that often happens during barbecue season and it shows how dangerous some foods can be for dogs.

‘You should always keep potentially dangerous foods out of your dog’s reach and if you suspect your dog has eaten something he shouldn’t have eaten then you should seek urgent veterinary advice.’

The Vets Now clinic where Howie was treated was recently rated Outstanding in the delivery of emergency and critical care by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.