It was almost game over after Cumbernauld dog swallowed Nintendo cartridge

A canine from Cumbernauld needed emergency surgery when vets discovered he had swallowed a video game cartridge.
Rocco recovering after his surgery and the x-ray showing the swallowed video game. Pic: PDSARocco recovering after his surgery and the x-ray showing the swallowed video game. Pic: PDSA
Rocco recovering after his surgery and the x-ray showing the swallowed video game. Pic: PDSA

Sean Johnston (27) and Rebecca Moss (29), knew something was wrong with their pet Rocco when the four-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross started vomiting and refused to eat.

When his condition didn’t improve, worried Sean made an emergency visit to the PDSA’s Glasgow Shamrock Street Pet Hospital.

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Rocco was admitted immediately and vets were stunned when the x-rays revealed a rectangular shaped object in his gut.

After rushing him into surgery to remove the potentially fatal object, they retrieved a video game cartridge for a Nintendo DS lodged in his small intestine.

Sean said: “He wasn’t acting himself at all and we were worried he’d eaten a corn on the cob, but we were so shocked when the vet said it was from a video game.

“We don’t own a Nintendo or anything like that so we’re baffled as to where he got it from.

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“He’s a rescue dog and we’ve only had him for about six months so the only thing we can think is that it was from his previous owners – who knows how long it’s been in there.”

Left untreated, the cartridge could have caused a fatal blockage, but an experienced surgeon was able to carry out the successful operation that same day and after an overnight stay to keep a close eye on his recovery Rocco was discharged for rest and recovery.

Sean said: “Even though we haven’t had him that long, he’s already such a big part of the family, so we’re delighted to have him back home. He’s made a brilliant recovery.”

PDSA senior vet Susan Hermit said: “We see dogs that eat strange things all the time but none of us had ever seen anything like this.

“It was a good job Sean brought Rocco in when he did, as an object of this size trying to pass through the guts could have caused a deadly blockage or pierced his internal organs.”

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