Teddy Bears Discovered Inside Dog Diagnosed With Cancer

Doctors who were prepared to remove the spleen of an eight-year-old St. Bernard named Maisy, after fearing that the dog had cancer, got a surprise during surgery.

After Jane Dickinson from Roberttown, near Dewsbury, West Yorks, in England, took her beloved pet dog to the vet to get a CT scan, it was revealed that it had an unusually full stomach and a mysterious mass pressing against its spleen. This led doctors to give a possible diagnosis that Maisy had cancer.

Following this, Maisy was rushed to receive an emergency surgery, where its spleen would be removed. However, when the doctors probed into the dog’s stomach, they discovered four half-digested teddy bears inside.

“It’s fair to say this was not something we were expecting to find!" Wakefield-based vet surgeon Nick Blackburn said, FOX News reported. “We all know certain dogs enjoy chewing things they shouldn’t but managing to devour four full teddy bears is quite a feat."

After their discovery, there was no need to remove the St. Bernard’s spleen and all they had to do was take out the remnants of the soft toys devoured by Maisy.

“I know Jane was worried about Maisy as she is quite old for a St. Bernard, so we were naturally delighted the operation was such a success and we were able to return a happy, healthy dog to the Dickinsons," he said.

It is not uncommon for dogs to end up swallowing small stuffed toys or devour the stuffing inside larger ones, but more than not, the stuffing would just pass through the digestive tract. However, in cases it does not pass and gets lodged in their small intestine, even for a few hours, they might end up requiring surgery, according to an SF Gate article.

But where did Maisy get the soft toys from? As it turns out, Dickinson also owns a couple of pet Chihuahuas — Mabel and Guinness — who are always surrounded by and playing with teddy bears.

Unknown to the owners, Maisy had stolen a few stuffed toys from them and made a feast out of them. "When Maisy went in I did think 'is she coming out?'," Dickinson said. “But she is loving life now — it’s like she’s got her youth back. The toys weren’t even hers. She will steal the Chihuahuas’ toys and play with them but I’ve never seen her trying to chew them."

“Her eating habits had been completely normal," she said. “I didn’t even recognize one of the toys — my brother also keeps Chihuahuas and it turns out it belonged to his dog.”

A histology report after the successful surgery revealed there were no signs of cancer inside Maisy. Dickinson was delighted to get the dog back without getting her worst fears realized.

“Now it’s like she’s got a new lease of life,” Dickinson said. “She is a good age for a St. Bernard and has lived longer than any of the others we have had. She’s a one-off.”