Rock hard abs? A dog in the US has undergone a successful surgery after he ate 16 rocks, weighing about 2 pounds.
The 7-year-old golden retriever, Gordon, scarfed down the river rocks that weighed a total of 1.79 pounds and Veterinary surgeons in Minnesota managed to remove them.
"I opened up the abdomen and went into the stomach," veterinary surgeon Jeff Yu was quoted by the New York Daily News as saying. "You could feel and hear the rocks moving around in there."
Yu successfully removed all 16 rocks from Gordon during a two-hour operation on Wednesday at the BluePearl veterinary center in Eden Prarie.
The stony dilemma came to the attention of Gordon's owner the day before when he noticed that the dog's stomach was a bit swollen.
"The next morning, the dog passed a rock when going to the bathroom, so they took the dog to the hospital for an X-ray," said BluePearl spokesman James P Judge.
The scan revealed all the stones stuck in Gordon's stomach. The confused couple suggested that he must have eaten river rocks from their garden.
The hospital referred Gordon to BluePearl for surgery. He was extremely dehydrated because the rocks had essentially completely filled his stomach.
Yu said that his team is used to uncovering bizarre items from dogs, such as toys, coins or even rocks, but he has never seen so many in one canine.
"Part of the reason it stopped eating is because it couldn't fit anymore down there!" Yu said.
Gordon, who is expected to make a full recovery, is still resting at BluePearl. Workers are weaning him off IV fluids and switching him onto oral medication.
"If he has a good night," Yu said, "we will get him home tomorrow.
