The plea comes after a dog named Kobe got the wired mask wedged in his stomach.
The University of Glasgow’s Small Animal Hospital is warning dog owners to be extra cautious after a dog went into treatment from swallowing a disposable face mask.
Making the plea on their Facebook page, the Small Animal Hospital made the post about a dog called Kobe, who on an afternoon walk had swallowed the mask.
Kobe’s owner was aware of the risk and dangers this had for the dog and rushed to take the canine to the out of hours service at Small Animal Hospital for treatment.
Commenting on Facebook, the hospital said: “Kobe was out for an afternoon walk when he spotted a discarded face mask and wolfed it down. Luckily, his owner recognised the risk of this causing damage to his gastro-intestinal tract and brought him straight to our out of hours emergency service.
“An X-Ray was taken to check if the mask contained a nose wire, as this increases the risk of complications – it did, but since this appeared small and flexible our team opted to make Kobe vomit in the hope of retrieving the mask. Kobe was given an injection to make him sick, and fortunately, the face mask was brought back up again.
“You can see from Kobe’s sad expression that this was not a fun experience, but happily there was no serious damage caused in his case. A good reminder that littering is not only bad for our environment but poses a danger to our pets too. Thank you to Kobe’s owner for allowing us to share his case and to our out of hours emergency service for writing his story and for all the essential work they do.”
This comes as the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) issues a warning over disposable face masks, urging people to cut off the wires of face masks before disposing of them in the bin to prevent similar instances as Kobe.
The plea came when employees at a car dealership in Chelmsford, Essex spotted a seagull with its feet tangled in the ear loop of a disposable face mask.
