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A mishap-prone dog called Paco chomped his way through multi-coloured foam letters spelling Happy Easter. His case shows how leaving litter is not only unsightly but can be dangerous to four-legged park-goers.
Mischievous Labrador Paco thought it was his lucky day when he arrived at the aftermath of his villageโs Easter Sunday egg hunt.
A large ball made out of pipe cleaners had been rolled down a hill. The ball had multiple hard-boiled eggs in it and had the foam letter greeting attached to its sides.
And so the sight that greeted greedy Paco was an irresistible tangle of foam letters, pipe cleaners and smashed egg. Paco wolfed down all the eggs โ along with the foam letters and also had a good chew of the pipe cleaners.
The pipe cleaners, used for arts and crafts, had sharp metal rods inside which could have punctured one of Pacoโs vital organs or severed one of his arteries. So Paco had to be rushed to emergency vet care โ a scenario his owner Paul McDowell is well familiar with after a string of previous incidents.
Paul said: โPaco is a typical Lab โ always on the look-out for something or anything he shouldnโt be eating.
โHeโs mad for eggs โ he once ate a whole half dozen he stole off the kitchen counter and weโve had to take him to the vets quite a few times before.
โOnce it was after he ate a slice of Christmas cake with all the currants and raisins which can be really toxic for dogs.
โAnother time was when he broke through into our neighbourโs garden and managed to get hold of some chicken bones left on a plate.
โSo we know the routine โ get him seen quick!โ
Pacoโs Easter mishap came when Paul and his wife Amy were walking him at Morton Park in Kilmaurs, Ayrshire, where they live. The egg-rolling was over by the time Paco got there but he still managed to make the most of it while he was off the lead.
Paul said: โIt was our usual evening walk โ and I think Paco thought all this stuff had been laid on for his personal enjoyment.
โHe seemed okay and didnโt have any immediate signs of any symptoms โ but we didnโt want to leave anything to chance.โ
Paul and Amy took Paco straight to our 24-hour pet emergency clinic in nearby Kilmarnock, where our team gave him an injection to make him sick and clean out his stomach.
Paul said: โItโs safe to say a fair amount of bright coloured foam came up โ but, fortunately, no pipe cleaners, which it turned out heโd been chewing but hadnโt actually swallowed.โ
Before long, and with Paco now feeling slightly sorry for himself, he was well enough to head home with Paul and Amy
And after a couple of days he was back to his boisterous normal self โ playing hide and seek with his toys and lurking in the kitchen in case of any crumbs being dropped.
Paul said: โPacoโs part of our family and we couldnโt forgive ourselves if any harm ever came to him so it was really important to get him checked over.
โBut I really do hope weโre not back at the vets again for a very long time!โ
Amanda McCool, principal nurse manager at our Kilmarnock clinic, said: โThe team remember Paco very well โ weโve never heard of a dog eating foam letters before!
โPaul and Amy did absolutely the right thing bringing him in because if Paco had swallowed any of the pipe cleaners it could have had very serious consequences for him due to the metal inside.โ
Paul and Amy met when they were working at a school in Madrid, hence Pacoโs Spanish name.
But loveable Paco, who was aged two at the time of last yearโs drama and is now three, doesnโt understand instructions in Spanish.
โIn fact,โ said Paul, โweโd be pretty pleased if he just started following some instructions in English occasionally!
โIf anything, he seems to getting more daft as he gets older โ not more sensible!โ