Mastiff Swallows Three Tennis Balls

To say that Elvis is a big city dog is no exaggeration. According to his owner Susan Welt, the mastiff weighs 180 pounds and is quite the site on the streets of New York. “It’s rare to see big dogs in the city,” said Susan. “People just crack up when they see us coming.” Elvis’ fans aren’t strictly human, however. The mastiff and his owner spend every morning in Central Park, playing with other dogs during off-leash hours. “Elvis loves every dog and every dog loves Elvis,” said Susan. “One morning he ran over to one of his friends, a much smaller dog that was playing with a tennis ball. I figured he wanted to play with the dog, but instead he picked it up the tennis ball and swallowed it whole.”

Shocked and concerned, Susan took Elvis to the veterinarian. “Our vet explained that it’s not uncommon for big dogs to swallow things like that. Although surgery was presented as an option, he recommended that we wait to see if Elvis would regurgitate the ball on his own. So, we went home to wait it out,” said Susan. “Every morning Elvis threw up, and every morning there was no ball. After about a week, it finally came back up.”

Relieved, Susan continued her morning routine in Central Park with Elvis, constantly scanning the area for unattended tennis balls. Unfortunately, Elvis spotted one before she did and began running toward another pet parent who was playing with his dogs. “I ran after him as fast as I could, shouting, ‘No! No!’ because I knew what he was after,” said Susan. “The other owner welcomed Elvis to play, and threw a tennis ball to him before I could get there. Elvis caught the ball and it went straight down his throat.” This time, the mastiff didn’t just swallow one; he gulped down a second ball only moments later.

Less than two weeks after Elvis’ first tennis ball incident, Susan was back at her veterinarian’s office. He advised her again to wait and see if the dog’s body would reject the balls on its own. “Every day, for 30 days, Elvis would throw up. One tennis ball came up, the other didn’t,” said Susan. “He was losing weight and we were at the vet’s office all the time. Our concern was that the second ball could potentially move into his intestines.” Susan’s veterinarian told her that she would know this had happened if she gave Elvis water, and he couldn’t keep it down. From that point, she would have 24 hours to get him into surgery. “One day, I gave him some water and it came right back up,” said Susan. “We left for the animal hospital right away.”

Susan informed us that Elvis’ surgery was successful, and the pooch has made a complete recovery. She was also happy to report that, thanks to diligent training, Elvis has not had another tennis ball incident. Although she doesn’t anticipate any more unusual ingestions, she’s prepared for the unexpected with VPI pet insurance. “In the end, I am very thankful to have pet insurance,” said Susan. “When we went in for his surgery, I had to pay upfront. I was unemployed at the time, but I knew VPI would help. Dogs don’t have rights the way that people do. That is why I absolutely believe in pet insurance; VPI is my dog’s right to live.”