les, hundreds of pets require surgery every year to remove articles of clothing and similar items from their stomachs and intestines.
There was the toy Poodle that swallowed a tube sock. Dr. Halligan made the dog vomit and removed a foot-long sock from the tiny dog. Dirty socks are among the most commonly ingested items of clothing. Your pet really loves your socks because they smell like you.
There was also the Great Dane who required multiple surgeries after eating shoulder pads.
While these stories may seem funny, the fact is non-food items such as these can be very dangerous if ingested by a pet. Fabric items don’t appear on x-rays, and within about 48 hours, a pet who has swallowed a piece of clothing will have symptoms like vomiting, loss of appetite and lethargy.
If ingested cloth is removed early, normally the pet has a full recovery. But if your dog (or much less commonly, your cat) eats something you aren’t aware of and time passes, the intestines will begin to die from lack of a blood supply. Sometimes the only option to save the pet is to remove the intestines. Surgeries to deal with odd things pets swallow are costly – at least $2,500 to $5,000 according to Dr. Halligan.
Left untreated, an ingested cloth item can result in a fatal case of dehydration or peritonitis caused by bacteria invading the stomach.
If you suspect your pet has ingested something toxic, please contact your veterinarian or the Animal Poison Control Center’s 24-hour hotline at (888) 426-4435.