Lemmy has a blockage in his gastrointestinal tract, and it necessitates surgery.

With the stick that was wedged between his teeth, I have a suspicion of what the culprit may be.

We prepare him for surgery with the same steps as we would for a female dog’s spay. We are headed into his abdomen, after all.

Once inside, I trace his intestines, starting from the colon and moving toward the stomach. Multiple lumps are palpable inside the loops of intestine and feel as if they’re connected together with a thin band. It stretches from lump to lump. Since the lumps are inside the intestines, I can’t see them until I cut into the tissue, but they don’t feel hard enough to be wood.

The intestines are a dark reddish purple and aren’t moving much. This is worrisome, as an obstruction can lead to death of the tissue, followed by leakage and death.

I make multiple incisions and remove a wadded up fabric coated in a food slurry. Two wads of fabric with a strap connecting them are the root of the problem.

I close the incisions into the intestines and check for leaks. Then I hold my breath and watch for a few minutes to see if the intestinal color returns to normal. Sadly, the color remains the same, and no motility is seen after several minutes.

It appears the blockage has irreversibly damaged Lemmy’s small intestine. Luckily, the damage is limited to an area one foot long. I remove the doomed section and reconnect the ends of the remaining intestine.

I see no leaks and complete the surgery. Then I monitor Lemmy during recovery.

My assistant brings me the foreign object as I’m monitoring Lemmy. It’s leopard print and silk. Lemmy has indulged in some cliché behavior and ingested underwear. It’s one of the more common foreign objects removed from dog intestines.

Going forward, we’ll monitor his recovery and end his access to the hamper.

Given the stick in his mouth as well, he may be better off having little unsupervised access to items he might swallow. I’ll recheck him in a week.

Matthew Sisk is a practicing veterinarian from Habersham County. Have questions about your pet? He can be reached at mattsisk2003@yahoo.com.