Labrador puppy Bella has lucky escape after eating a SAFETY PIN while rummaging through a bin 

A mischievous puppy has injured herself after swallowing an open safety pin when she rummaged through a bin. 

Bella, an eight-month-old Labrador Retriever, was rushed to the vets who caught her in the process of swallowing a pin at home in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. 

Owners Will Maisey, 27, and Sarah Ritchie, 29, caught the puppy in the act, after she bolted upstairs when the pet gate was accidentally left open.  

Bella ate the pin while rummaging in a bedroom bin and quickly swallowed the object before they had a chance to grab her.

Vets retrieved the open safety pin from Bella’s throat, and luckily the pup is now back to her normal self after being saved from the potentially deadly situation. 

Mr Maisey, a professional rugby player, said: ‘Bella is a typical Labrador puppy and is always hungry.

‘We pin the problem on her gluttony – everything, whether it’s food or not, is potentially gourmet cuisine to her.

‘The safety pin was only in the bin because Sarah had inadvertently thrown it away with a printed number from a recent running competition.’

He added: ‘We tried to get it off Bella but unfortunately she decided to swallow it and later she began retching which really panicked us both. 

‘We’re so grateful that Bella is back to her naughty little self again.’

She was rushed to her local pet emergency clinic Vets Now in Milton Keynes and X-rays showed that the safety pin was worryingly lying in her oesophagus.

Bella was referred to the internal medicine team at Davies vet practice for emergency treatment.

Emma Rogers-Smith, an Internal Medicine Resident at Davies, said: ‘It wasn’t possible to tell from her X-ray if the safety pin had perforated the oesophagus or not.

‘We discussed the options with the emergency team at Vets Now – either giving Bella a meal and making her sick or performing an emergency endoscopy.

‘Because of a risk that making her sick could give her a collapsed lung, the referring vets felt it was best to send Bella to us.

‘But there is still a risk of esophageal damage with endoscopic removal, especially given the fact that the safety pin was open.’

Bella was anaesthetised and the safety pin was retrieved from her gullet with no complications.

The lucky pup recovered quickly and fully, and was discharged the same afternoon to the relieved couple Will and Sarah.

Will added: ‘It’s scary to think about the damage it could have potentially done.

‘The vets did a brilliant job – we couldn’t thank Emma enough and now, Bella is back to her normal exuberant self.

‘In future we will be double checking the pet gate and keeping discarded safety pins closed!’