Pet Dog Swallows Nintendo Game Cartridge, Required Emergency Surgery

A pet dog underwent an emergency surgery after it swallowed a Nintendo video game cartridge in Scotland on Wednesday.

The dog, a four-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Rocco, began vomiting and refused to eat after which its owners took him to a local veterinary hospital. An X-ray of the dog showed a rectangular object in its small intestine. An emergency surgery was conducted and the vets found a Nintendo DS cartridge. The canine was discharged Thursday morning after an overnight stay.

The dog’s owner, however, said he had no idea from where the pet got the game as he did not own one.

Sean Johnston, the dog’s owner, said, “He wasn’t acting himself at all and we were worried he’d eaten a corn on the cob, but we were so shocked when the vet said it was from a video game. We don’t own a Nintendo or anything like that so we’re baffled as to where he got it from.”

“He’s a rescue dog and we’ve only had him for about six months so the only thing we can think is that it was from his previous owners – who knows how long it’s been in there. Even though we haven’t had him that long, he’s already such a big part of the family, so we’re delighted to have him back home,” he added, the Independent reported.

The cartridge could have caused a fatal blockage if it was not treated on time.

Susan Hermit, a senior veterinarian, said, “We see dogs that eat strange things all the time but none of us had ever seen anything like this. Objects can sometimes sit in the stomach for a while, but they cause problems when they try and push through the guts, which are much narrower.”

“It was a good job Sean brought Rocco in when he did, as an object of this size trying to pass through the guts could have caused a deadly blockage or pierced his internal organs,” he added.

The dog was expected to make a full recovery.