Vet Issues Warning After Dog Nearly Dies From Swallowing A Face Mask

2020 is the year of the phone, keys, wallet, and mask checklist. We can’t leave the house to run errands without a mask. While many of us have several reusable ones that we can wash and alternate with each use, others opt for less hassle with the disposable ones – you just grab and go then throw away after.

While these are convenient, they do need to be properly disposed of in the trash rather than just tossed anywhere. Unfortunately, there are many people who just litter their disposable masks. As a result, this has posed many problems for wildlife as well as our beloved pets.

And there is now a vet who is being very vocal about the dangers of littering disposable masks after a dog went into their practice having accident swallowed a disposable mask while on a walk. In Scotland, the staff from the Small Animal Hospital at the University of Glasgow posted Kobe’s story to Facebook as a warning. The poor dog had to have medical attention following the accident, and they pointed out that the dog was incredibly lucky not to have suffered serious damage.

According to the post, Kobe was out enjoying an afternoon walk with his owner. For whatever reason, the dog saw the abandoned face mask on the ground and proceeded to eat it. Kobe’s owner rushed the dog to the vet after this incident.

And the post did note that it was fortunate that the owner “recognized the risk of this causing damage to his gastro-intestinal tract, and brought him straight to our Out of Hours Emergency Service.”

Because of the wire nose on the mask, the vets noted that the situation posed even more danger for the dog.

The Facebook post added that “An x-ray was taken to check if the mask contained a nose wire, as this increases the risk of complications – it did, but since this appeared small and flexible our team opted to make Kobe vomit in the hope of retrieving the mask.”

Kobe then had to be given medication to make him throw up in hopes he’d throw up the mask. Thankfully, it worked and surgery wasn’t required. The poor pup wasn’t enjoying the experience. Because of this ordeal, the vets are warning the public not to litter their disposable face masks.

They shared that it’s not only bad for the environment but in Kobe’s case, bad for peoples’ pets as well. Hopefully Kobe’s story will inspire more people to just throw it away in the bin like they’re supposed to.