The weirdest things dogs have eaten according to pet insurance claims
Why would a dog to burrow into the rubbish bin, find a disposable razor blade head and eat it?
We'll never know, but that's exactly what a trendy retrodoodle (golden retriever crossed with miniature poodle) did before expensive surgery fixed the problem.
The latest list of head-scratching behaviour behind claims received by Southern Cross Pet Insurance reveals many modern dogs are struggling to work out what is food and what isn't.
Southern Cross Pet Insurance head Anthony McPhail says another recent case saw a German shepherd eat a duvet cover and the inner stuffing, which unsurprisingly caused an intestinal blockage.
Other odd meals included a latex rubber glove, also retrieved from the rubbish, eaten by a fox terrier, and a Labrador that feasted on 100 cotton buds and their plastic packaging, before eating a pair of undies for dessert.
A miniature poodle also fancied clothing and downed a pair of knee-high pantyhose stockings.
It gets odder. There's the border collie that ate the metal teeth of a hairbrush and regretted it. Also full of regret was a great Dane which chewed on a Ventolin inhaler. This exploded in its mouth, causing a rapid heart rate and mouth bruising.
A bottle dummy teat "incident" shows how expensive strange meals can be. The cavoodle (cavalier King Charles spaniel and poodle) needed surgery and cutting open to get the teat out of its stomach. This cost $2900.
While it's much rarer for cats to be caught out eating crazy things, a few did join the dogs.
A ragdoll cat dined out on nail painting toe separators, while a domestic short-haired cat was taken to the vet who removed a Whiskas soft food sachet and human hair from her stomach.
Written by Ewan Sargent. Republished with permission of Stuff.co.nz.