For six months, Jennifer Zwart believed her daughter’s missing pacifiers had simply been misplaced—kicked under couches or dropped from a moving stroller—but Lulu, her English bulldog, knew better.
“One day I saw Lulu licking a dropped pacifier and scolded her for it. I didn’t pick it up right away, because I never thought she would eat it, but I turned around and the pacifier was gone,” said Zwart of Warson Woods, Mo. “I took Lulu to the veterinarian and expected that an X-ray would reveal the pacifier. The X-ray was unclear, so the veterinarians decided to perform surgery. Midway through the surgery, they started a ‘binky count,’ as they pulled out pacifier after pacifier. They had never seen anything like it. Over the course of six months, Lulu had swallowed 15 pacifiers, a bottle cap and piece of a basketball.”
Zwart’s claim for Lulu was one of more than 75,000 claims received in the month of December by Veterinary Pet Insurance, the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance. Lulu’s dietary indiscretion was considered along with other remarkable claims submitted in December and selected by VPI as the most unusual of the bunch.
“After the surgery, the contents of her stomach filled half of a one-gallon Ziploc bag,” said Zwart. “The technicians asked if they could take pictures with their camera phones. We were all shocked, especially since Lulu never had any symptoms and I had no idea all of those pacifiers had gone missing. Fortunately, Lulu handled the surgery very well and now that we are aware of her appetite for pacifiers, we make sure they’re never left lying around.”
4:48 pm
You have my vote. My son just got an English Bulldog puppy and I want him to read this story. Definitely worthy of the hambone award. Good luck.
4:50 pm
is frightening – this one produced a full clown car worth of binky results.
Hands down and 14 binky’s swallowed – Lulu has to be this year’s ultimate VPI Hambone Award champ!
4:51 pm
This is similar to our old yellow lab mix, Della, who would occasionally \recycle\” her poo. She would end up ingesting some of the pea gravel in her dog pen. One day he moaned and groaned so badly we took her to the vet. They x-rayed her and she had a belly full of pebbles
4:55 pm
Of thoes offered, I feel this one to be the most interesting. You’d expect a dog to not feel well early on, and to walk away from more pacifiers.
4:57 pm
AS THEY SAY ONCE A BABY ALWAYS A BABY. MAYBE YOU SHOULD CHANGE THE DOGS NAME TO LULU BINKY.
4:58 pm
I can feel Lulu’s pain or lack of. My Lizzy ate sweet corn cobs thrown out in the garden. 10 big chunks were removed from her stomach after surgery! You have mine and Lizzy’s vote.
4:59 pm
A steel digestive system; evidence of a hardy breed. Lulu is probably saying bring on the spicy pasta !
6:40 pm
This is HIGHlarious! I am so glad Lulu is alright. She is so cute! But this is a really crazy thing to happen – I mean 15 pacifiers!!
6:42 pm
I am glad that LuLu is OK, but I want to know how you can lose 15 pacifiers and not know it. And how may kids do you have that use pacifiers?? All in all, I think it is a great story.. With a happy ending..I am so lucky, my dog doesn’t get into anything.. (or at least hasn’t yet) She is a 4 year old Aussie.. Good luck..
6:45 pm
What a riot! I would have thought I was going crazy losing pacifiers.
6:46 pm
You Got My Vote! My husband has always wanted an English Bulldog I am going 2 tell him about this story. I am so glad that Lulu is alright!
6:51 pm
Simply amazing, no symptoms.. i work at a vet and i see some pretty crazy things removed from animals stomachs, like corn cobs, yarn, hair bands, underwear, rubber toys and rocks but i can say i have never seen pacifiers…. i’m glad to hear Lulu is ok. i have a labrador retriever and they are known for eating things. i knock on wood saying this but he hasnt had to have surgery. but he did swallow a cat toy but i induced vomiting and it came up
Dogs are crazy but i wouldnt live with out one.
6:53 pm
I have no problem believing this story…my english bulldog chewed the wood on my dining room chairs and table to where we had to replace it…but this is such a sweet breed…would not take anything for mine.