Martin Bell, from Hessle, stifled tears as he recalled the “absolutely horrific” scene as one-year-old Bella was left choking and battling to breathe when a ball became stuck in the back of her throat.
His repeated efforts to remove the ball failed and left him bitten and bleeding while Bella was still in deep distress.
Martin tried to ring his local vets, Gables Veterinary Centre in Hessle, but pouring rain and bleeding hands made his touchscreen mobile phone inoperable, so he pushed the emergency call button and pleaded with the emergency services operator to contact the vets to send urgent help.
Martin explained: “It was absolutely horrific. I was heartbroken. I really thought Bella was going to die.
“She had fallen to the floor retching, struggling to breathe, her eyes were rolling, she was foaming at the mouth and her tongue turned blue.
“We’d been playing fetch with three balls and I could see one was missing so knew almost immediately she must have swallowed it. When I reached into Bella’s mouth to try and grab it she started biting me in panic.
“That’s when I realised I wasn’t going to free it and needed to get her to Gables Vets as fast as possible.
“The trouble was that we were stuck in “The Recca” playing fields, at least 50 metres away from the nearest house and I knew there was no time to waste.
Gables Vets emergency service
“I tried to call the vets but it was raining heavily and my hands were so bloody that the touchscreen wouldn’t work, so I pushed the emergency number in desperation and asked them to ring the vets for me.
“I honestly couldn’t believe it when the vets arrived within just a few minutes. I’m sure it was their quick response that saved Bella’s life.”
The Gables reception team were quick to react when the emergency call came in, alerting practice manager Jo Pritchard to jump into the car with vet Serena Simpkin to go to Martin and Bella’s aid.
Within minutes, Bella had been located and rushed back to the practice.
Serena said: “It was all very dramatic and there was no time to waste as I knew Bella could die from oxygen deprivation if we didn’t act quickly.”
On the way back to the practice, Serena called ahead to inform the nursing team of the severity of the situation, asking them to prepare for the worst, anticipating the need for CPR and emergency surgery.
An IV cannula was placed and an anaesthetic drug was given to calm Bella and allow Serena to safely attempt retrieval of the solid, plastic ball.
Serena said: “I placed Bella on her back, straddled her chest and used all my strength to apply firm manual pressure on her throat behind the wedged ball. The whole team breathed a sigh of relief when the ball was finally dislodged!
“The change in Bella was dramatic. Within seconds, her tongue was pink, her breathing had significantly improved and she was out of danger. She must have been choking for half an hour so did well to survive.
“Bella’s quick and profound recovery gave us all a real sense of satisfaction. There aren’t many situations when you can definitively say that your actions saved a pet’s life, but this was absolutely one of them.”
Jo was full of praise for Serena, registered veterinary nurses Rebecca Thompson and Kerry Lakes, and patient care assistant Charlotte Harrison.
She said: “I’m extremely proud of how the whole team pulled together to respond to this very dramatic incident. From the moment the emergency call came in, everyone went the extra mile to save Bella’s life.”
Serena said the case also serves to highlight the dangers of throwing balls and sticks for dogs.
She added: “If you are going to throw a ball for your dog, think carefully about its size and material. Choose something soft and hollow, that can be decompressed if needed.”
Martin is certainly very grateful to Serena, Jo and the Gables’ team for saving the family pet’s life.
“I was absolutely amazed and over-joyed. The vets were incredible. They literally went the extra mile to save Bella.
“They even treated my bites for me too. They washed off the blood, cleaned the wounds with antiseptic wipes and put plasters on them. That’s how caring they are!”