Working at a veterinary care center can be pretty stressful. After all, dealing with sick and injured pets all day long is probably fairly taxing on one’s nerves. Sometimes, though, you have to stop, take a step back, and laugh at the silliness of some animals.
That’s where the They Ate What? contest comes in. Advanced veterinary care centers and emergency vet care facilities submit x-rays and case files of some of the strangest things their patients ate for laugh.
This past year’s winner was Kermit the frog. No, not the one who finds it difficult to be green — another Kermit. The little amphibian’s owner knew something was off when they saw Kermit eating his cage’s substrate rocks. They took them in to the veterinary care center, where a veterinarian technician then confirmed what the owner witnessed. Kermit then had over 30 ornamental rocks removed from his stomach without complications. The owner then wisely decided to remove the rest of the rocks from Kermit’s cage.
Second place went to Marley, a German shorthaired pointer who ate a shish kabob skewer. Apparently, the owner had prepared the shish kabobs, turned around for just a second, and saw that the two were gone. The owner removed one, and thought it impossible that he had eaten the other. Naturally, the veterinary care center did an x-ray, found the other in his stomach, and removed it safely.
Third place went to a Great Dane. The owner took him to a veterinary care center when he started having stomach problems. A quick x-ray revealed that there was some kind of mysterious blockage, and upon surgery, they discovered that the three-year-old dog had eaten 43 and a half socks.
A sick or injured animal is never a funny thing, but if we’re being honest, the situations are sometimes laughable. If you had to take your own pet to veterinary care center for a silly reason, feel free to share your own story in the comments.