A three-month-old dog needed life-saving surgery after somehow swallowing a toy arrow almost as long as he is.

Jax the springer spaniel was found by owner Leanne Eales, 32, in distress at the family home and she rushed him to the vet.

An X-ray discovered the puppy had wolfed down a toy arrow with a rubber sucker on the end belonging to Leanne's young children.

Supermarket worker Leanne, from Spennymoor, County Durham, was horrified to see the X-ray of the wooden shaft stretching the length of Jax's body.

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The task of removing the arrow was made all the more difficult by the fact the rubber sucker had attached itself to Jax's stomach wall.

Leanne said: “I was petrified and honestly thought we were going to lose him at that point. It was so awful, he is just a puppy and we’d only had him a week.

“There was total disbelief, we couldn't understand how on earth could he have swallowed this arrow down whole?

“Then there was the worry of how the vets could remove it and whether there would be some internal damage or worse.

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“There was such a great relief when we were told the procedure had been a total success and Jax was fine.”

Jax was saved by Chiara Giannasi at Wear Referrals vet practice in Bradbury, County Durham.

Chiara said: “Jax was referred to us as an emergency case and his X-rays showed a large arrow-shaped foreign body spanning from the oesophagus down into his stomach and suctioned to his stomach wall.

“He was an extremely depressed dog when we examined him and was grunting and retching.

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“An endoscopy showed the suction end of the toy arrow was actually attached to the stomach wall, making it very difficult for us to grasp.

“This meant we needed a number of our internal medicine team to help with the procedure of removing it using gentle manual traction via endoscopy.

“The team carried out a challenging anaesthesia and our medical nurses assisted to ensure the very best care and results for Jax.

“He was certainly a lot happier and more comfortable when it had been removed. He was able to go home soon after the procedure and has now happily made a full recovery.”

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Leanne, her partner Andrew and three children Alexa, 14, Isabel, six, and three-year-old Thomas, were relieved to get him home.

Leanne added: “It’s amazing. Jax was back to normal the next day.

"He’s still a typical puppy – chewing anything and everything so we keep a close eye on him and if we have to leave him alone, we put him in his crate.

“We can’t thank the team at vets enough for what they did. They were wonderful and Jax had such brilliant care. They were fantastic.”

• Dogs

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