Warwick vet saves life of Marmite the dog after late-night kebab feast disaster

A warwick-based vet saved the life of Marmite the dog after his late-night kebab feast disaster.
Marmite with his owner Sharon Brown and vet Elly McPhee. Photos supplied.Marmite with his owner Sharon Brown and vet Elly McPhee. Photos supplied.
Marmite with his owner Sharon Brown and vet Elly McPhee. Photos supplied.

Marmite the cocker spaniel bit off more than he could chew when he wolfed down a couple of late-night kebabs.

Unfortunately the much-loved 11-year-old pet also swallowed the wooden skewers and was soon in agony as they stuck in his throat and stomach.

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Worried owner Sharon Brown rushed him to Avonvale Veterinary Centre’s 24-hour emergency hospital in Warwick, where he underwent an immediate three-hour operation.

Marmite with his owner Sharon Brown and vet Elly McPhee. Photos supplied.Marmite with his owner Sharon Brown and vet Elly McPhee. Photos supplied.
Marmite with his owner Sharon Brown and vet Elly McPhee. Photos supplied.

Thanks to the swift intervention of veterinary surgeon Elly McPhee, Marmite was quickly back on his feet and back home.

Sharon, from Moreton Morrell, recalled the drama. She said: “I went into the kitchen at around 11pm and saw Marmite swallowing something down as quickly as possible.

“I noticed the bin was open and I knew straight away he’d helped himself to the leftovers of our kebab take-away.

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“Within five or ten minutes he was clearly in trouble. He was gagging, trying to stretch out from tip to toe and was wobbly and falling over.

Marmite the cocker spaniel. Photo supplied.Marmite the cocker spaniel. Photo supplied.
Marmite the cocker spaniel. Photo supplied.

“I took him straight to Avonvale and they acted so quickly; within 15 minutes of arrival they were anaesthetising him and getting ready to operate.”

Avonvale veterinary surgeon Elly McPhee said: “The first thing we did was put a video camera down Marmite’s oesophagus and halfway down we found a chicken kebab complete with a long, wooden skewer.

“There was even chicken and peppers still attached to it so he had obviously swallowed it whole.

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“It was lodged hard and we were unable to retrieve it, which is why Marmite needed an emergency operation. The longer the kebab was in there, the more risk there was of the skewer rupturing something or causing infection.

The kebab skewers that were removed from Marmite. Photo supplied.The kebab skewers that were removed from Marmite. Photo supplied.
The kebab skewers that were removed from Marmite. Photo supplied.

“The only possible way of removing the kebab was by going into the stomach and pulling it down, through and finally out.

“However, as soon I’d gone into the stomach I realised there was a second kebab and skewer lodged in there too, so we ended up removing both.”

Mrs Brown added: “Elly and the Avonvale team were brilliant, they were all heroes on the night.

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“When I went in to see Marmite after the operation they showed me the two kebabs that they had removed.

“It was amazing. I’d obviously caught him in the act and he’d just gobbled them down as quickly as possible without even chewing them.”

It’s not the first time Avonvale has come to the rescue of Marmite and Sharon.

On a previous visit, the team quickly diagnosed Marmite with the potentially fatal Seasonal Canine Illness and their swift treatment saved his life.

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On another occasion, they referred Marmite to the specialist Emergency and Critical Care Service at Willows Veterinary Centre, in Solihull, who removed one the discs from his spine to prevent him becoming paralysed in his back legs.

Sharon said: “He’s such a lucky dog, he’s done so many things and got into so many scrapes but he just seems indestructible.”

For more information about Avonvale, which has branches in Kenilworth, Stratford, Warwick, Heathcote, Southam, Wellesbourne and Cubbington, click here or search for Avonvale Veterinary Centres on Facebook.