This is Juno. She looks a bit fed-up in the photo but was soon bouncing home to her family. She had an unusual meal at Christmas time - of which more later.

Christmas is always a busy time at the practice. Lots of vaccinations for dogs and cats going into kennels while their owners are away; lots of bank holidays to cover; and everyone likes a bit of time off at this time of year so there is more work for the ones left holding the fort.

We didn't get too many Christmas-related problems this year, just the usual array of vomiting dogs. 'Dietary indiscretion' is a wonderful veterinary term which covers the underlying cause of several illnesses seen in (mainly) dogs.

In previous years we have had some amusing cases to see - including the dog whose owner coyly admitted that the cause of her vomiting was the fact that she had eaten a box of chocolate willies, including wrapping and box....or the Yorkshire terrier knocked out by the Wii controller when the ubiquitous toy was first on the market. Gastric dilation (bloat) caused by the labrador eating the entire Christmas dinner intended for his extended family of 10, or the cat that ate the tinsel off the Christmas tree; the festive season has indeed generally been a great source of veterinary anecdotes. (And don't worry, they all made a full recovery!)

Anyway, back to Juno....

Her tummy was Xrayed but there was nothing conclusive to see, so a decision was made to do an exploratory laparotomy - ie to operate and have a look at her bowels to see if anything was obstructing them.

Sure enough, something soft and filthy was causing the obstruction. It was removed surgically and Juno was put on a drip and hospitalised for her recovery. After a good washing, this is what was found:

Cute, isn't he? Not sure whose toy he was, but since the muck washed out but the smell didn't, I don't think anyone is going to be playing with him again! And certainly not Juno!