Dog owner's urgent warning over BBQ brush after pet almost died twice

24 May 2023, 14:11

By Heart

@thisisheart

There is a warning for dog owners over a 'dangerous' BBQ brush with ‘razor-sharp bristles’.

A dog owner has issued an urgent warning to other pet parents after his dog nearly died at a barbecue.

Leon Tomasevic, from Nottingham, said his labradoodle Riley swallowed 'dangerous' spikes after licking a wire cleaning brush.

He has now called for a ban on any brushes that shed the wires easily, saying they can perforate the internal organs of animals and cause fatal bleeding.

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Speaking to The Mirror, Leon explained that his pup had gone out in the garden in the morning and found the barbecue brush lying around.

“We had absolutely no idea of the dangers but when he started chewing at it, because of the flavours and scents of the cooking, the tiny bristles just came off,” he said.

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“He was sick within minutes and our vets were incredibly worried. There were literally hundreds of bristles, and it would have been impossible to operate and get them all out.”

Leon went on to bulk-feed Riley with meals of pasta, bread and mashed potato to help the bristles pass through him naturally without the need for surgery.

While this worked the first time, Riley accidentally swallowed the bristles again when they were visiting friends.

Poor Riley was rushed to the vets and had to be sedated for an X-ray which showed he had swallowed lots of the tiny wire bristles and they were stuck in his stomach and intestines.

Luckily, the same bulk feeding routine worked again and Riley recovered but Leon is now calling for these ‘deadly’ brushes to be taken off the market altogether.

Emergency animal care provider, Vet Now, have said that injuries to pets at BBQs have almost doubled since 2019.

He told the Mirror: “We see a number of unusual injuries at this time of year as barbecues and parties in particular can be hazardous for pets.

“As well as swallowing kebab skewers, eating cooked bones, developing food poisoning, or sustaining burn injuries from stealing piping hot food from the barbecue, pets can also sustain traumatic injuries such as getting their tails stuck in patio doors and breaking their legs.”