The Thousand Dollar Peach Pit

Another story featuring Ripley and his recent adventure swallowing a peach pit. As you can see, this was not a small item, but when it slipped out of my fingers while eating a very expensive peach, Ripley was there in a heartbeat, literally, and had swallowed it whole before I could stop him. That was a week ago Tuesday, and immediately I called the vet to ask "what can I do". The staff said "well, watch him closely and if he shows any distress, call us". They made a logical assumption that what went down would ultimately pass through his system.

Well, it didn't pass through, and by the following Saturday, an X-ray was in order. The pit was there, in the stomach, just sitting there going nowhere - but at great risk of causing trouble later. Our vet had a specialist coming through the following Tuesday, who had surgical expertise, but also a endoscope which was basically a camera with pincers that could go down the throat into the stomach and hopefully grasp and remove the pit. He also had ultrasound gear that confirmed the location. Endoscopy was the preferred method, and the least invasive. Tuesday we took Ripley back and awaited the phone call.

The endoscopy method did not work, after three tries there was a concern that the pit might fracture and cause more problems, so Trapper John and Hawkeye (well, they were also both vets, right?) went to Plan B, an incision and extraction through the stomach wall. Three sets of stitches later, and two days of IV drip of fluids, we were told Ripley could come home to recover.

He came home, complete with a plastic "Elizabethan collar" as the vet called it. The collar is to keep Ripley from chewing on his stitches. The little guy is a trooper and hasn't objected too strenuously about wearing it. We take it off when time to go outside - if he stops to agitate his stitches, we can always bring his head back up with the short leash. However, no more 20 foot leash and swimming in the lake, and no more climbing trees for at least a month. He has dissolving stitches in the interior parts, but the stitches on his belly will have to be removed by the vet in two weeks.

His doctor is a fine man, and we have a good prognosis for a complete recovery. We have banned peaches (other than the variety that comes in cans already cut up) from the cupboards, for good measure. And judging from the picture of the pit alongside the ruler, you can see that this obstacle was no small item. Ripley fought the peach and the peach won. So, we have just added to our investment in our priceless beagle buddy. Maybe that means one less cruise this year, but he's worth it. And with a beagle around, who needs a goat to clean up.