Vets perform fairground-style ‘Hook a Duck’ operation to pull rubber toy from bulldog’s stomach

A team of vets successfully performed a fairground-like procedure on a British bulldog after he swallowed a rubber duck whole.

The vets, from Pride Veterinary Centre in Derby, used methods not unlike the “hook a duck” fairground game on one-year-old bulldog Ronnie.

After using an endoscopy, passing a video camera down the mischievous dog’s esophagus before entering his stomach, the team used a simple loop to pull the toy out.

Owner Joe Fisher, 38, a dad-of-three from Nottingham said: “I came down to get Ronnie in the morning and when I opened the stairgate he shot past me and right up the stairs.

“He ran right into my nine-year-old daughter Edie’s room, picked up the rubber duck that was lying on the floor and ran back down with it in his mouth.

“I never for a minute thought he’d swallow it. It was so big I couldn’t believe what he’d done.

“We were obviously really concerned that it might block his airway or something, but he didn’t appear to be bothered at all.”

It really was like playing ‘hook a duck’ and after about half an hour we got the loop around it and pulled it out

Debs Smith, a senior vet at Pride Veterinary Centre, said: “We sedated Ronnie so we could get an X-ray and it showed the duck really clearly.

“It was still in his stomach and hadn’t passed into the intestines, but we were obviously concerned about it causing an obstruction.

“It was possible that we might have to operate but we tried an endoscopy first, passing down a camera and using it to guide us.

“It really was like playing ‘hook a duck’ and after about half an hour we got the loop around it and pulled it out.”

Ronnie was soon back to his old self after the procedure and Joe was able to collect him from the surgery later that afternoon.

He plans to frame the X-rays and has kept the duck as a reminder of his naughty pup’s unusual early morning snack.