PDSA vets urge pet owners to avoid summertime blues

Barbeque skewers, broken glass and heatstroke are all in a day’s work for PDSA’s dedicated vets. With Brits making the most of the sudden soaring temperatures, the leading veterinary charity is urging owners make sure their four-legged friends stay safe in the summer sunshine.

 

PDSA’s Senior Veterinary Surgeon, Elaine Pendlebury, said: “Heatstroke is the main danger for pets, and owners should remember never to leave pets in cars. Leaving car windows open makes little difference, as the temperatures can soar dangerously high in just a few minutes. However, there are also other dangers facing pets as we all head outside to enjoy the sunshine.”

 

With several weekends of sunshine predicted and a busy calendar of events the number of barbeques is expected to rocket, but they can be a something of a danger-zone for pets, and not just because of the hot coals. Dogs in particular can find that their appetites put them in harms’ way, as they will quickly wolf down any food left lying around – along with any skewers, cutlery and corn-on-the-cob husks.

 

Vets at Leicester PDSA PetAid hospital removed a 15 cm wooden skewer from seven-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross Missy’s intestines, after she accidently gobbled it up during a family BBQ last year. Collie pup Chubb, from Glasgow, also made a dog’s dinner of a birthday BBQ feast when he got his paws on a plate of leftovers, and swallowed a corn on the cob core – complete with three inch metal skewers! Luckily PDSA vets were on hand to carry out life-saving surgery, and Chubb survived the potentially fatal ordeal.

 

Meanwhile, mischievous Teves, a Labrador Terrier cross from Coventry, got something of a ‘pane’ in his neck after he charged through his owner’s greenhouse last summer, while enjoying a run in the garden. A five-inch piece of glass was left stuck in his neck, narrowly missing one of his main arteries, but thankfully PDSA vets were on hand to perform emergency surgery, and astonishingly he made a full recovery.

 

PDSA has put together a ‘summer safety checklist’ and a free downloadable leaflet, to make sure owners can keep their furry friends safe and happy in the sunshine. Visit www.pdsa.org.uk/summerhealth for summer health tips for pets.