Sometimes we are amazed at the things our 4-legged friends manage to swallow. For instance, Dr. Mathis' once extracted a 3 foot piece of 2 x 4 from a cow. Usually, though, the culprits are dogs, and sometimes cats and horses. The list of objects removed is varied and sometimes amusing and includes: balls, toys, Christmas nuts in the shell, string, baling twine, towels, plastic bags, steelies, balloons, sewing needles, and ladies' underwear.
Once we had a cat with a string protruding from both ends. Part of it was still under the tongue and the other end had gone clear through and was hanging out the back. If you're thinking they could just pull one end or the other and have it slide right out...no way. Multiple incisions were required to remove it and put that cat back in working order. Likewise, when a dog chewed and swallowed a Stretch Armstrong, seven incisions were needed to remove it. After that one, Dr. Mathis decided we needed to have some toys available for sale that are not easily chewed and swallowed, so we now carry Kong rubber toys.
For the faint of heart or weak of stomach, you may want to quit reading now. A client presented a dog in labor. A puppy showed on an x-ray, but she just wasn't having it. Finally, the Dr. opened her up to do a c-section and got a surprise; the baby wasn't in the uterus, it was in the intestine. The mother had delivered it and then swallowed it.