Family shocked by the reason for pet's mystery illness

Owner Katrina Irving feared cocker spaniel Max had developed a cancerous tumour, but an ultrasound scan revealed the unlikely cause of the five-year-old’s ailment.

Katrina said: “Max had been sick a few times and just wasn’t himself.

“He was pacing up and down the house, wanting outside all the time and constantly crying. Everything I gave to him, he brought back up. I was really worried.”

Max’s health continued to worsen and Katrina was getting increasingly worried about his welfare.

She said: “Max was bringing up luminous green bile and wasn’t eating or drinking anything. He was absolutely miserable.”

The dog was taken to his local vets who performed an ultrasound scan which showed a large mass in his intestine.

Katrina feared it was cancer, but it turned out to be a corn on the cob.

She said: “I haven’t got a clue where he picked it up because we don’t eat them, the vet said it had probably been in Max’s stomach for around two weeks.”

Max was rushed to the Vets Now pet emergency hospital in Glasgow and following an operation is back to his old self.

Katrina said: “It was a really worrying time. Max is a huge part of our family and we would have been devastated if we’d lost him.”