French bulldog undergoes lifesaving surgery after seed binge
French bulldog Chunk has lived up to his name, chowing down on so many plump palm seeds in a backyard binge that he needed lifesaving surgery – here’s how this Aussie dog’s drama unfolded
READING LEVEL: GREEN
A feisty French bulldog with an oversized appetite wolfed down 50 walnut-sized palm seeds in his Sydney backyard, before having to undergo major lifesaving surgery.
Two-year-old Chunk devoured the Cocos palm seeds over a period of a few days, after they dropped into his Northern Beaches backyard from a neighbouring property.
But the orange and green seeds, measuring 2-3cm in diameter, created a massive life-threatening blockage in the bulldog’s stomach.
Only a few made it through to his colon* and just one passed completely, meaning his stomach became chock full of the walnut-sized seeds.
Chunk’s owner, Lee-Anne McCormack, called the Sydney Animals Hospitals’ vet clinic at nearby Newport after she noticed the Frenchie had became “really puffy” and a bit shaky on his feet.
She said Chunk was just “not himself”.
“He’ll eat just about anything if he sees it on the ground,” she said. “But we didn’t know that we had the seeds down the back of our sloping block. They were under some shrubs.”
Ms McCormack noticed last Sunday week that Chunk had a runny poo and was reluctant to move around.
“We thought he had gastro from some chicken the night before,” Ms McCormack said.
“Then we saw he was really puffy from the top down and we went into panic mode and called the Newport vet. They said bring him straight in.”
An X-ray discovered 39 seeds crammed into his stomach and the rest in his colon*.
“I’d thought that he’d eaten something. He’s called ‘Chunk’ for a reason,” she said.
“The vet said he’d never seen anything like it and that he needed surgery.”
Veterinary surgeon Dr Ben Mills had to make an incision* in the dog’s stomach to remove the seeds.
“They were stuck in his stomach, not letting anything through. It felt like a bag of marbles in his stomach,” Dr Mills said.
“If nothing can move through, then anything he tries to eat and drink, he just vomits back up. “The worst case scenario is that it can damage the stomach walls so badly that his stomach can rupture*.”
Dr Mills said Chunk’s emergency was an important reminder that hidden backyard hazards could pose a potentially deadly threat to pets.
“Palm seeds and garden debris* can accumulate in a dog’s stomach over time and may not cause obvious symptoms until they create a life-threatening blockage,” he said.
Dr Mills urged dog owners to regularly inspect their yards and be vigilant* about what their dogs may be picking up, particularly breeds like French bulldogs, pugs and labradors, all notorious* for eating almost anything.
“Ideally, if you see your pet eat something that it shouldn’t, sometimes, if you get them in soon enough, we can make them vomit and bring it up and avoid surgery altogether. It’s (the) sooner the better,” he said.
POLL
GLOSSARY
- colon: lower and larger part of the bowels that food travels while being digested
- rupture: a sudden burst, break or tear in something
- incision: a precise deliberated and localised cut in the skin during some surgeries
- debris: pieces of rubbish or other unwanted loose material spread around a site
- vigilant: especially watchful, very alert, especially to danger
- notorious: widely known for something naughty or bad
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QUICK QUIZ
- What kind of seeds did Chunk eat?
- How many did he eat?
- How many were found in his stomach alone?
- What symptoms let his owners know something was wrong?
- Which dog breeds are notorious for eating almost anything?
LISTEN TO THIS STORY
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. What would Chunk say?
Rewrite the story from Chunk’s point of view.
Time: spend at least 20 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English
2. Extension
Create a poster or a script and storyboard for an online/ TV advertisement. Your purpose is to give dog owners advice about how to protect their pets from eating dangerous or poisonous things in their yards or in the home.
Time: spend at least 40 minutes on this activity
Curriculum Links: English
VCOP ACTIVITY
Read this!
A headline on an article – or a title on your text – should capture the attention of the audience, telling them to read this now. So choosing the perfect words for a headline or title is very important.
Create three new headlines for the events that took place in this article. Remember, what you write and how you write it will set the pace for the whole text, so make sure it matches.
Read out your headlines to a partner and discuss what the article will be about based on the headline you created. Discuss the tone and mood you set in just your few, short words. Does it do the article justice? Will it capture the audience’s attention the way you hoped? Would you want to read more?
Consider how a headline or title is similar to using short, sharp sentences throughout your text. They can be just as important as complex ones. Go through the last text you wrote and highlight any short, sharp sentences that capture the audience.