A COCKER Spaniel has had a narrow escape after a kebab skewer lodged itself in her stomach and almost punctured her spleen.

Three-year-old Ruby was on a walk with owner Steve Langley through Lydiard Park when she accidentally swallowed the sharp woodestick.

Ruby’s owner Steve told the Adver: “She just dived underneath one of the benches and I thought she grabbed a burger, but by the time we got home she was starting to be violently sick.”

Ruby was taken to Purton Vets the following day where vets took X rays to find out what the problem was.

“You could tell she was in all sorts of discomfort, but nobody really knew why.” said Steve.

“They opened her up and were just astonished. They went and pulled this kebab stick out. It had gone through her stomach lining and grazed the side of her spleen and was lodged between the liver and spleen. It ended up being a major operation.

“Purton vets are just fantastic, their skill and care is just superb.

“Fortunately for Ruby, humans saved her life. But what about all the wild animals? What a horrible death that would have been if the vets hadn’t have saved her.

Vet Phillipa Hunt, from the Purton practice, said: “The kebab stick had basically punctured her stomach wall, caught the end of her spleen, gone behind her kidney and wedged its self in the area where all her major vessels are, so she had quite a tricky surgery.”

Ruby recovered from the surgery on Saturday and is said to be making a good recovery after her ordeal.

The vets had a similar incident with another dog and a kebab skewer only a few weeks before Ruby swallowed one and Steve and wife Lorraine, along with the medics, are asking visitors to think about the consequences litter can have.

“Our message is to get people to think. The bins are only 10 metres away,” said Steve. “It’s staggering sometimes.”

Phillipa added: “At this time of year with barbecues and people leaving rubbish around in public places it’s a big risk really, and kebab sticks are notorious for causing problems. “They don’t show up on an x-ray, so you only find them when you go in there.”

A Swindon Borough Council spokesman said: “We have every sympathy with Ruby’s owners after this unfortunate incident and we hope she makes a quick recovery.

“The team at Lydiard work extremely hard to keep the park clean for the thousands of people who visit each week. This includes emptying all the bins every day and undertaking regular litter picks.

“We would like to remind all park users of the need to dispose of their waste in a responsible manner.

“Litter doesn’t just spoil the beautiful parkland for visitors, it can also have a negative impact on animals and wildlife within the park, as this terrible incident has shown.”