Stratford vets save puppy's life after she swallowed a stone and couldn't breath

A THREE-MONTH-OLD German Shepherd puppy had her life saved by a Stratford veterinary practice after she swallowed a stone that blocked her airwaves.

Jetta was fighting to survive when she was rushed to Avonvale Veterinary Centres where emergency care saved her life.

Vets Sarah Ives, Ruth O’Flaherty and vet nurse Sarah Coton, who work at the Rosebird Centre branch of Avonvale, gave Jetta oxygen and examined her under general anaesthetic to discover the problem.

Sarah said: “Jetta arrived in a collapsed state and was gasping for breath. We straight away provided oxygen therapy and tried to ascertain what was causing the obstruction.

“As we couldn't see anything obvious, we decided to intubate (insert a tube into her windpipe to provide air) and examine her under general anaesthetic. Jetta’s colour immediately improved and she was stable enough for us to take an x-ray.

“We very quickly found the problem! There was a stone wedged in her bronchi but fortunately it had only blocked one side of her airways, so she was still able to pass some air.

“It remained a serious situation, though, so we called our clinical director Simon Davies, who came over from our Warwick animal hospital to help deal with the case.

“He arrived with a videoscope which he passed down Jetta’s throat to locate the stone and carefully retrieve it.

“It was quite a difficult procedure, as the stone was very smooth and kept sliding away from the instrument he was using to try and secure it.

“We all let out a cheer and breathed a sigh of relief when he did manage to grasp the stone and carefully pull it up and out of Jetta’s airway.”

Jetta improved quickly, was put on a course on antibiotics and allowed home.

Sarah added: “She’s one very lucky girl as it was the team’s quick thinking and actions which very much saved Jetta's life.”