Dog survives for five months with kebab stick in chest

Bessie has made a full recovery after the kebab stick was removed

A "very lucky" dog survived for five months with an 8in (20cm) kebab stick lodged inside her chest, close to her heart and lungs.

Bessie, a nine-year-old labradoodle, had been ill since a summer barbecue.

However, despite several trips to a vet and two X-rays of her stomach, her illness was not diagnosed.

After lumps appeared on Bessie's chest, a specialist vet's scan of her chest revealed the skewer and she had an operation to remove it.

Owner Sally Scott, who was warned Bessie might not survive surgery, said her recovery was the ideal Christmas gift.

Vet Henry L'Eplattenier, who carried out the operation, said: "It's amazing that it pierced all the way through and into the chest but missed all the vital organs, so Bessie was very lucky indeed."

Henry L'Eplattenier with the kebab stick found inside Bessie

Mrs Scott, from Ramsden Heath near Billericay, Essex, said Bessie had been with the family since she was a puppy.

But since July Bessie had been regularly vomiting and had diarrhoea.

Bessie was referred to the specialist veterinary practice after two lumps were found and a scan of her chest revealed the obstruction.

A CT scan revealed the kebab stick in Bessie's chest

Mrs Scott said Bessie "must have stolen a kebab from a barbecue we had last summer and swallowed the stick as well".

She said that since the operation, Bessie had been "bouncing around like a puppy again".

Mrs Scott added: "Bessie clearly likes a kebab, but there'll be no more barbecues for her and no more kebabs for us."

Mrs Scott's sons Jack and Archie are thrilled Bessie will be at home this Christmas