WARNING: This story contains graphic video of the surgery.
LANCASTER, Penn. (WMPT) — A rescue dog at a Pennsylvania animal shelter is recuperating after undergoing surgery to remove a six-inch popsicle stick from inside his chest.
After a pug named Jake was brought to the Humane League of Lancaster from another shelter, he was treated for kennel cough and a fresh wound.
However, because Jake’s wound was so severe, HLLC’s veterinarian decided he needed to have surgery.
Dr. Langlois made a startling discovery: a six-inch popsicle stick embedded deep in Jake’s chest cavity.
“I went in last Tuesday just to do some surgery to clean out some older maybe infected tissue and as we kind of got deeper down to the seed of the infection is when we noticed something didn’t look quite right there,” said Dr. Langlois. “And as we kind of explored it a little bit further we eventually pulled out which was a good five to six inch popsicle stick.”
While the surgery was a success and Jake is expected to make a full recovery, it remains unclear how the stick ended up inside the dog.
Officials said that the popsicle stick would have likely traveled deeper into the dog’s chest, potentially causing severe or fatal damage to his lungs or heart, if it had not been removed.
Jake is on the mend, but his multiple surgeries, medication and recovery were expensive. The Humane League is asking for donations so that they can continue to treat all of the animals in their care.
