Doberman swallowed 25 tennis balls

Dogs aren’t known for being choosy about what they eat, but one doberman ended up with 25 tennis balls in its stomach.

Seven-year-old Stella was taken to the vet when her owner Colin Hutchinson noticed she was off her food. Vets operated and found the 25 balls – most of them chewed up but one still complete. 

The retired policeman from Sunderland was worried Stella was not eating and feared she’d swallowed something poisonous.

But when vets operated they found a pile of tennis balls inside her weighing 1.5 kilos.

Mr Hutchinson said: “The vet found a load of chewed up tennis balls and one completely whole tennis ball. How on earth Stella managed to swallow it I don’t know. Altogether, the balls weighed half a kilo which is ridiculous.

“But we were lucky the vet got to them when she did. If she hadn’t operated that night Stella’s intestine could have ruptured and we’d have lost her. I can’t praise Vets Now enough for what they have done for her.”

He added: “Stella loves chasing balls and I use a ball launcher when I’m out with her, but I’ve never lost one and the second she pops one I throw it in the bin.

“The only thing I can think is she might have found them in the field when we’ve been out at night.”

Mr Hutchinson, his wife Adele, and their three children, aged nine, 10 and 11, are delighted to have their beloved pet back to full health.

Vet Jacqui, who operated on Stella, said: “Some dogs will eat literally anything and I have removed a lot of strange ‘foreign bodies’ over the years. But this was a record number of tennis balls.”