Labradoodle stops eating and X-ray reveals nearly 100 items inside his stomach

A lethargic dog and a dangerously high fever

In June, Malcolm, a usually playful seven-year-old Labradoodle, suddenly became lethargic. He refused to eat and began vomiting, as reported by The Dodo. Joel Harper, a children's book author and one of his owners, realised he needed to act quickly. He lives in France with his wife, Marielle Enzo, their three children, and their three pets. He rushed Malcolm to the Clinique Vétérinaire du Saint-Quentin, where the dog already had a dangerously high fever.

An X-ray that left the team baffled

The X-ray showed a tangled mess inside his stomach that nobody could identify at first. Vets initially thought they might be headphones, Harper told The Dodo. He imagined it could be a skipping rope or part of a fishing rod. Whatever it was, the foreign object had to come out, so the team prepared Malcolm for surgery.

Between 75 and 100 hair ties

After the operation, the mystery was solved. Malcolm had swallowed hair ties — between 75 and 100 of them, according to Harper's estimate. The family was stunned. Nobody had ever seen him chewing them, and none had ever been found in the garden. Harper believes his dog had been swallowing them for years.

However, one of the hair ties had reached his intestine, where it frayed and caused sepsis. Malcolm had to undergo a second emergency surgery.

A three-and-a-half-week battle

Malcolm stayed at the clinic for three and a half weeks, including a spell in intensive care. On several occasions, the vet warned the family that he might not pull through and invited them to say their goodbyes, his owners wrote on the GoFundMe page set up to help pay for his care. Before a third operation, Harper asked the vet to be honest about how much pain the dog was suffering. The answer gave them fresh hope: in thirty years of practice, the vet had never seen a dog like Malcolm, whose tail "never stopped wagging" despite the pain, surgeries, and intensive care.

Against all odds, Malcolm pulled through and went home, this time for good. His family now call him their "miracle boy". "He plays like a puppy," Marielle Enzo delighted. For Harper, recovery was never in doubt. He said he always knew his dog had the will to live.

Signs you should never ignore

Lethargy, loss of appetite, vomiting, and fever: these were the symptoms that alerted Malcolm's family. They are a clear sign that you should consult a vet without delay, especially if you suspect your dog has swallowed a foreign object. Hair ties are small and easy to swallow, so they should always be kept well out of reach.