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Jimmy had to visit the emergency vet after mistaking the earphones for an Easter treat
A puppy needed emergency surgery after swallowing a pair of Apple AirPods that were charging in their case.
Owner Rachel Hick rushed golden retriever Jimmy to Vets Now in Hull where vets performed intricate surgery to remove the device.
Astonishingly, the case came out intact, with the wireless headphones still inside and the charging light still on.
Hours later, Rachel discovered both the charger and the headphones still worked perfectly.
The 22-year-old, who lives at home with her parents in Willerby, near Hull, said her “heart sank” when she realised what had happened.
She said: “It was Easter Sunday and Jimmy has his own Instagram account, so I was taking photos of him getting his first dog Easter egg to use on Instagram. He was jumping up and running around going crazy, he was so hyped up and excited.
“As he jumped, he knocked my AirPods out of my pocket and they fell on the floor, and before I even realised they’d dropped on the floor, he’d eaten them whole.
“He looked up at me straight after and gave me a look as if to say ‘that wasn’t the treat, was it?’ My heart sank.”
Rachel raced the puppy to Vets Now, where he was scanned.
Susana Jauregui, senior vet at Vets Now in Hull, said: “Our vet on duty that evening, Steven, x-rayed Jimmy and the radiograph images clearly showed the AirPods case still intact in his digestive system.
“There was a risk of it causing an obstruction and, with it being a charging case, Steven was also concerned about battery acid leaking so, after discussing the situation with Jimmy’s owners, he agreed to operate.
“Jimmy’s a beautiful dog and he’s lucky his owners acted so promptly. Battery acid is highly dangerous to dogs as are large foreign objects, especially if they’re allowed to pass into the intestine.”
To Steven’s surprise, there wasn’t a scratch or a tooth mark on the device and even the charging light was still on.
The operation took place on a Sunday evening and Jimmy spent the night recuperating in the clinic.
He is now home, with a cone around his head to stop him from licking his stitches.
Speaking to the Hull Daily Mail, Rachel said: “He’s a bit sorry for himself, we’re not allowed to exercise him so he has all this energy and nowhere for it to go.
“I have been so worried about him, it’s certainly a cautionary tale for other dog owners. I can’t believe the AirPods still work, they’ve had a good clean!”
Two years ago, a man was stunned to find that his AirPods still worked after he swallowed the device and was forced to dig it out of a toilet.
Ben Hsu fell asleep with the wireless headphones still in his ears but woke up unable to find one of them.
Using his iPhone’s tracking feature he discovered the device was still in his room and heard its beeping sound following him around. He then realised the sound was coming from his stomach.
All of Vets Now’s premises always have a vet and vet nurse on site.