A dalmatian had to have 18 inches of his intestine removed after eating rubbish left behind in an Aberdeen field.
Milo contracted sepsis and needed major surgery after digesting a mayonnaise carton and a plastic bag full of discarded rubbish in Sheddocksley in Aberdeen earlier this month.
The 11-year-old pooch started being sick and was rushed to Morven Veterinary Practice in Alford, who discovered the rubbish had caused two holes in his stomach and a large blockage.
Milo ended up having 18ins of his intestine removed leaving his owner Dorothy Battensby with an eye watering vet bill of £1,900.
“The farmer has found dumped mattresses and all sorts there before”
The NSH worker has now hit out at the “lazy individuals” who left the rubbish lying around in the first place.
The 55-year-old: “The vet said if we had left it any longer he wouldn’t have made it.
“We had been out for a walk and he ran off. He’s usually really good and comes back when he’s called but I had to go round looking for him.
“I found him with his nose in a black bag. It had obviously been dumped there. There were poo bags, nappies and rotten food. It was horrendous.
“The farmer has found dumped mattresses and all sorts there before. Someone would have probably had to go there to just dump it.
“We went back and removed it.
“Milo ended up in surgery for about five hours. The vets stayed with him through the night as they didn’t think he would make it. He’s been great, he is a fighter.
“He’s recovering well but has been quiet and sleeping a lot.”
“On Sunday, Milo began to be repeatedly sick”
Ms Battensby posted about the incident on Facebook last Tuesday, writing: “Please take a second to look at these photos of rubbish which has been disrespectfully strewn around the fields.
“In this particular bag there was all sorts of rubbish from rotten food to nappy bags and dog poo bags.
“Unfortunately when out for a walk on Friday, May 14, our 11-year-old dog Milo decided to eat some of the rubbish but we pulled him away from it and we thought that would be that.
“On Sunday, Milo began to be repeatedly sick. Milo usually has quite a sensitive stomach though so we didn’t think much of it.
“On Monday though, Milo continued to be sick and eventually he could no longer keep water down and he began to breathe funny and so we took him for an emergency appointment at our vets.
“After taking blood he told us that Milo did have sepsis and that he’d keep him in overnight and hopefully they’d caught it early. If not, the vet said that Milo would not make it.
“They found a mayonnaise carton (like the ones you’d get at McDonalds) and a plastic bag full of rotten rubbish.
“This caused two holes in his stomach and a blockage so bad they had to remove 18ins of his intestine.”
“We’re now left with a veterinary bill of almost £2,000 as a result of a selfish individual’s pure laziness and Milo is left with a long and painful recovery.”
Facebook post goes viral
The post has had more than 400 shares and almost 200 comments from Facebook users.
Nicola Watt said: “Oh I’m so sorry to hear about Milo, what an awful thing to happen,” while Jennifer Kane wrote: “Poor pooch bloody awful that humans are so careless and innocent animals get hurt.”
Ms Battensby later set up a GoFundMe page in order to raise money to help with the life saving vet fees.
She added: “Sadly it’s virtually pointless to insure an older dog and as a result of people’s carelessness, we are left to foot Milo’s vet bill of £1,900.”