Rottweiler undergoes three hour operation after eating 30 PPE gloves

Well, according to a dog from Wakefield, you should eat them when your owner isn’t looking and then hide the evidence under your bed.

That’s what happened when Rambo, a Rottweiler, did this to his owner Darren Coyne

But this was only the start of the story that ended up with Rambo being rushed to a veterinary hospital when he was sick and brought up one of the rubber gloves that Darren used in his job for intercontinental hotel group.

Seven-year-old Rambo was first taken to Wakefield Westgate Vets4Pets for a check-up and then to Leeds Birstall Vets4Pets 24/7 hospital for an endoscopy.

And that’s when Rambo’s secret habit of eating PPE gloves was finally uncovered and handed vets a marathon effort to prevent a doggie disaster.

Keith Leonard, veterinary surgeon and owner at Leeds Birstall 24/7 hospital, carried out the endoscopy with help from his team.

He said: “When Rambo was referred to us we didn’t think we’d be finding much; particularly as he literally bounced into the hospital seemingly without a care in the world.

“But the seemingly brief endoscopy turned into a three-hour operation as we removed 29 further PPE gloves from Rambo’s stomach, making it 30 in total that he had seemingly eaten.

“Each time we pulled a glove out, we went back to check it was the last one and found another one – it was something we’ve never seen or heard of before.

“While Rambo was outwardly in a healthy condition, it wouldn’t have taken much for his situation to have turned critical and his owner’s quick thinking to bring him in to the practice and then our hospital, effectively saved his life.”

Darren had been provided a number of boxes of PPE gloves to help him with his role at Holiday Inn at junction 40 of the M1, to ensure he was adhering to the lockdown rules.

Rambo would be taken in the car for local exercise walks, and would travel in the rear of the car, near where the gloves were stored.

Darren said: “I’ve been taking Rambo in the car with me for many journeys and he’s never paid much attention to anything in the car.

“I had a number of boxes of gloves and just assumed I’d used all of one box; which is why Rambo got away with eating and hiding them.

“When he was sick with one glove I instantly recognised it and searched the car for any evidence of him eating anything else.

“That was when I found the box hidden underneath his bed and the missing gloves.

“I rushed him to my vet practice, Vets4Pets Wakefield Westgate, and from there I was in their professional hands as they helped Rambo.

“When he went to Leeds Birstall 24/7 hospital for the endoscopy I thought they might find one or two other gloves, but was absolutely gobsmacked when Keith and his team eventually pulled the 29 gloves out.

“I can’t thank them enough for how they helped Rambo, particularly as he seemed to be his normal self and oblivious to the dangerous situation he was in.”

Rambo was able to go home less then 12 hours after arriving for his endoscopy and has now fully recovered from his situation.

Keith said: “Dogs are inquisitive animals and the huge increase in usage of PPE gloves thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic mean they’re more likely to come across these new and potentially fragrant items.

“While Rambo was lucky, other pets might not be, so we’d encourage all owners to make sure to keep items that dogs or other pets shouldn’t have, way out of reach.

“But, if something does happen, then following the steps Darren took will really help their pet’s predicament.”

Rambo is now separated in the car from anything he could possibly eat, and the gloves stay firmly locked away.

Darren said: “He’s a lucky dog, the gloves are now stored away out of his reach and I’ve told him ‘hands off’ my equipment!"