On 27th September 2021 Milo was on his usual afternoon walk when he picked up a bone wrapped in a facemask. While the bone was quickly taken off him, the ear piece of the mask came off and Milo quickly swallowed the mask. He was taken to the vets who xrayed him. The vets noticed the mask had a metal nose clip which could cause damage if it was left to pass naturally. Similarly, inducing vomitting could cause issues if the metal pierced anything while coming up. 

Milo went in for surgery first thing Tuesday morning which went well. He's making a good recovery and we're hoping this will continue over the next few weeks. Milo was treated very quickly, and the vets and vet nurses at the our vets (PDSA Bournemouth) were fantastic, helpful and incredibly caring.

Like most charities, the PDSA rely on donations which will inevitably been impacted by the pandemic. Our family and Milo are incredibly grateful for the PDSA so would like to fundraise for them whilst highlighting the importance of disposing of face masks correctly. Please put your masks in the bin correctly and do not discard them as they pose a risk to animals, including dogs and wildlife. We don't want any other dog to go through surgery when it's entirely preventable, please do the right thing and dispose of your masks correctly.

The PDSA believe Every pet deserves to lead a happy and healthy life. As the UK's leading veterinary charity with 48 Pet Hospitals, we improve pets lives through prevention, education and treatment.Every year our dedicated veterinary teams carry out 2.7 million treatments on 470,000 pets in need - all made possible thanks to people like you.