Massachusetts

Veterinarian: Bulldog swallows 19 baby pacifiers

BOSTON — A Boston veterinary hospital got quite a surprise recently when a family brought in their bulldog after he stopped eating.

The Angell Animal Medical Center found 19 baby pacifiers in the dog's stomach.

It started in April when the Wellesley family noticed that their 3-year-old dog, Mortimer, started getting nauseous before meals. His owner, Emily Shanahan, brought Mortimer to the vet, who prescribed medicine to take care of the issue.

"No one ever thinks that the family dog is one at a time eating into this supply of pacifiers," said Rob Halpin, Angell Animal Medical Center.

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But it didn't help and Mortimer eventually stopped eating entirely.

Shanahan went to Angell, where they took an X-ray and discovered the pacifiers.

"This is a bulldog who’s about this big the pacifiers occupied as much space in his belly as there was room for," said Halpin. "It could be a complete obstruction of the digestive track or it could be a rupture of the digestive track."

Vets think Mortimer had been taking the pacifiers from Shanahan's two children over the course of months.

The pacifiers were removed without surgery and Mortimer has fully recovered and is back at home.

"It's as if it never happened to him at all," said Halpin.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.