“Watch out for marrow bones. Here’s another unlucky dog.” That’s the caption Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic wrote when sharing a photo showing a marrow bone stuck over a dog’s lower jaw.
It looks pretty serious, and it’s actually something that vets see more frequently than they would like to.
Wasson Memorial Veterinary Clinic
Firefighters in North York in Canada responded to a similar emergency call just a few days ago, when a woman showed up with her dog Ginger asking for help. Her 10-month-old Shepherd mix had a similar bone stuck on her lower jaw. The woman had apparently gone to a vet who told her to take Ginger to the emergency veterinary hospital but she stopped at the fire hall on the way for some extra help.
Although the dog was never in danger and was still breathing, the fire crew decided to take Ginger to the Willowdale Animal Hospital themselves and assist the vets in removing the bone. They ended up cutting the two sides of the bone with a Dremel tool.
Video: Firefighters and vets team up to save dog with bone stuck in jaw http://t.co/g46sIBUC9E @cityandreap pic.twitter.com/REPiJJ8kqJ
— CityNews Toronto (@CityNews) September 25, 2015
Dr. Jonathan Bloom, the vet who treated Ginger, says that it is not uncommon for his clinic to see dogs come in with the marrow bones stuck on their jaws. “You see it quite frequently,” he told City News. “They’ll come in with these marrow bones wrapped around their lips and lower jaw.”
The vet said that the problem is the bone gets stuck on the dog’s big “fang” teeth (the canines) and then when the lips swell it locks the bone around the jaw.
Vets usually put the dog under anesthesia and then they try to wiggle it off, but when that doesn’t work it has to be sawed off. Dr. Bloom did say it was the first time he was assisted by firefighters and Dremel saw.
He and other vets caution pet owners to watch out for the bones when feeding them to their dogs. The bones can not only break teeth, but they can split and cause serious stomach problems as well.
Please share this safety tip with the dog lovers you know.
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