An adorable Labrador retriever always gets a seat at her family’s dinner table because of her medical condition.
Tink the silver Labrador lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her owner Tom Sullivan.
Sullivan said Tink has been sitting in her high chair since she was nine weeks old because of her condition called Megaesophagus.
Adorable Labrador retriever, Tink (pictured), always gets a seat at her family’s dinner table because of her medical condition. The cute pooch is required to eat while sitting in a high chair
Tink lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her owner Tom Sullivan who said Tink has been sitting in her high chair since she was nine weeks old because of her condition called Megaesophagus
The condition prevents Tink from being able to eat properly. So when she does eat, the food doesn’t go down to her stomach
The condition prevents Tink from being able to eat properly. So when she does eat, the food doesn’t go down to her stomach.
The food just stays in her esophagus and she eventually regurgitates it, which is why it’s important she eats in an upright position to keep the food moving downward into her stomach.
It’s also necessary for her to be burped like a child.
‘After she sits in her chair, this is a normal thing, for about five minutes we burp her, as crazy as it sounds,’ Sullivan told CBS
‘And then we do a throat massage where we get deep in the esophagus and help all the food go down,’ he added.
Tink eats four times a day out of a ‘bailey chair’, which is a high chair for dogs.
The food just stays in her esophagus and she eventually regurgitates it, which is why it’s important she eats in an upright position to keep the food moving downward into her stomach
It’s also necessary for her to be burped like a child. ‘After she sits in her chair, this is a normal thing, for about five minutes we burp her, as crazy as it sounds,’ Sullivan said
The survival rate is low for dogs with Megaesophagus because they require much-needed care and attention that some busy owners just can’t provide for them.
Megaesophagus is more common in dogs than cats and certain breeds of dogs.
The Sullivans told Fox 17 that online support groups and tips they get from other owners of dogs with Megaesophagus have been the key to helping them give Tink an amazing life.
Aside from her condition, Tink lives a relatively normal life going on boat rides, watching TV and snuggling with her humans and teddy bears.
The survival rate is low for dogs with Megaesophagus because they require much-needed care and attention that some busy owners just can’t provide for them
Aside from her condition, Tink lives a relatively normal life going on boat rides, watching TV and snuggling with her humans and teddy bears