Dunstable dog spends birthday at vets after swallowing spatula covered in cake mix

Rebecca Deacon made Boxer Bosco a cake to celebrate him turning eight.

Just like mums everywhere, she let the loveable pooch have a lick of the spoon.

Unfortunately, the hungry hound’s enthusiastic slurp saw him swallow the spatula as well as the cake batter.

Fearing the damage the soft plastic spatula could cause, Rebecca, rushed Bosco to Vets Now in Hemel Hempstead for urgent treatment.

“We always tend to make Bosco a special dog-friendly cake as a treat each year,” said Rebecca, who runs her own long-haul travel business.

“My daughters made a carrot cake this year, so after dinner I went to ice it. Normally I put some pet-friendly peanut butter on top, and while I was doing it, Bosco was standing there drooling as he could smell it.

“It’s kind of gloopy and some of it was stuck to the spatula so I reached down and let him lick it off. He likes yogurt and we let him lick the spoon when we have it, so I never thought anything of it. But he was trying to grab the spatula, so I went to pull it away and the top of it came off the handle.”

“It literally happened in an instant. I looked down and the top of the spatula was gone! He was just standing there, he looked totally untroubled, but we panicked at the thought of him having this big bit of plastic in him.”

“We knew we couldn’t wait and as it was evening, we called Vets Now and were told to bring him in straight away.”

The emerency clinic in Hemel Hempstead is one of a nationwide chain of more than 60 hospitals and clinics open seven days a week for out-of-hours pet emergencies.

Covid-19 restrictions meant Rebecca had to hand Bosco over and then wait in the car for a call after assessment.

“We quickly established that the best way to deal with this was to give Bosco an injection to make him sick so that he brought up the soft plastic,” said senior vet Michelle Dawson.

“That usually works quickly, so with Rebecca’s agreement we went ahead and gave Bosco the injection. He was really brave and didn’t even notice it happen.”

Rebecca had just popped to get a late-night takeaway coffee when she got the call to say all was well.

“I couldn’t believe how quick it was,” said Rebecca. “Within minutes were told the lime green spatula head had come back up.

“He was sick and had diarrhoea for a while but when it settled, we got him home. He was a bit subdued, but he perked up over the next few days and soon got better.

“So much so he even had his birthday cake. It was really quite traumatic at the time but I can laugh about it now and a friend even ordered me a new spatula!

“It was just a relief to have somewhere like Vets Now to turn to at that time of night.”

And Vets Now even organised an extra little birthday treat to be sent to Bosco.

“I thought he deserved something nice for his birthday. I felt bad that our ‘gift’ to Bosco on his birthday was an injection to make him sick,” added Michelle. “I’m glad he got to enjoy his cake after all.”

All of Vets Now’s premises always have a vet and vet nurse on site.

They also offer an online video consultation service to make professional veterinary advice more easily available.

While the service is not suitable for life-threatening emergencies, their experienced vets are available to discuss any worries or concerns pet owners might have.

If a pet needs an in-person follow-up appointment at any vet practice, Vets Now will refund the online consultation fee, so owners never pay twice.