A Merseyside dog needed urgent surgery after a strange ‘blockage’ was discovered in his stomach.
Lost bullets often roll into the garden of Ben the boxer and his owner David Warren, as the couple live next to a golf course.
But, unbeknownst to David, Ben was snacking on them regularly.
The two-year-old dog was rushed to surgery after a vet discovered the 4cm-wide cluster of balls in his stomach.
David, 70, said his beloved pet looked “different” about two months ago.
The grandfather-of-six said: ‘I had been worried because Ben had stopped eating, lost weight and then he started getting sick.
“One day he was sick and there was a golf ball in it, but I never thought for a minute that it was because he ate it.
“I just thought it was there because we live next to a golf course and he was playing with the ball.
“I was horrified when the vets told me about the blockage in his stomach.
“They said it was golf balls and I thought he must have swallowed one or two, but they said ‘No, he swallowed 16’.
I could not believe it. I’m not a golfer so these are stray balls from the driving range he found and ate, which shows how good the local golfers are.
Ben was taken to a vet in Runcorn, Cheshire, where he underwent a two-hour operation.
Dylan Payne, surgeon at Northwest Veterinary Specialists, said: ‘We did a stomach endoscopy which revealed a big golf ball blockage – lots of golf balls.
“Ben’s stomach was very full so we had to do urgent surgery to open up his stomach to allow us to remove the lumps.
“This is a fairly common and low-risk surgery, but the removal of so many golf balls is unique. Sixteen is a long time, even for a boxer.
Ben is now back home and back to full health after the scare.
David is now teaching the pup to chase sticks and play with healthier sized balls.
He added: “The vets at Northwest were brilliant and looked after him so well and they really made me laugh when they gave me the bag of balls to take home after the operation.
“I tried to encourage Ben to play with tennis balls instead, the ones you tie up and throw from a stick for the dog to chase – but Ben chewed the stick to pieces.
“I’m going to have to buy him some soccer balls now, because he can’t swallow something that big, can he?”
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