Miracle pooch survives after swallowing two wooden skewers as he tucked into late-night chicken kebab

Marmite the mischievous cocker spaniel bit off more than he could chew when he wolfed down a couple of late-night snacks behind his owner's back.

Unfortunately for the much-loved 11-year-old pet, he also swallowed the wooden skewers and was soon in agony as they stuck in his throat and stomach.

Marmite underwent an emergency three-hour operation to remove the skewers - with chicken and peppers still attached - at the Avonvale Veterinary Centre in Warwick.

Sharon, from Moreton Morrell, Warks., said she found the gluttonous pooch tucking into the meaty treat last week.

She added: “I went into the kitchen at around 11pm and saw Marmite swallowing something down as quickly as possible.

“I noticed the bin was open and I knew straight away he’d helped himself to the leftovers of our kebab take-away.

“Within five or ten minutes he was clearly in trouble. He was gagging, trying to stretch out from tip to toe and was wobbly and falling over.

“I took him straight to Avonvale and they acted so quickly; within 15 minutes of arrival they were anaesthetising him and getting ready to operate.

“They were brilliant, they were all heroes on the night.

“When I went in to see Marmite after the operation they showed me the two kebabs that they had removed.

“It was amazing. I’d obviously caught him in the act and he’d just gobbled them down as quickly as possible without even chewing them.”

Veterinary surgeon Elly McPhee, who led the operation, said: “The first thing we did was put a video camera down Marmite’s oesophagus and halfway down we found a chicken kebab complete with a long, wooden skewer.

“There was even chicken and peppers still attached to it so he had obviously swallowed it whole.

“It was lodged hard and we were unable to retrieve it, which is why Marmite needed an emergency operation.

"The longer the kebab was in there, the more risk there was of the skewer rupturing something or causing infection.

“The only possible way of removing the kebab was by going into the stomach and pulling it down, through and finally out.

“However, as soon I’d gone into the stomach I realised there was a second kebab and skewer lodged in there too, so we ended up removing both.”

It’s not the first time the vets has come to the rescue of Marmite and Sharon after the dog was admitted on two previous occasions.

During one visit, the team quickly diagnosed Marmite with the potentially fatal Seasonal Canine Illness and their swift treatment saved his life.

On another occasion, they referred Marmite to Willows Veterinary Centre, in Solihull, West Mids., who removed one of the discs from his spine to prevent him becoming paralysed in his back legs.

Sharon added: “He’s such a lucky dog.

"He’s done so many things and got into so many scrapes but he just seems indestructible.”