Pica Syndrome-Associated Bowel Emergency in a 1-Year-5-Month-Old Boerboel Dog – A Case Report

Abstract

Dogs sometimes engage in unhealthy feeding habits, including the consumption of non-edible materials. This habit has been associated with mineral deficiency or boredom, resulting in behavioral and psychological disorders. Some ingested materials may pass through the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) without eliciting any clinical signs, while others may cause obstruction, leading to emergencies. Diagnosis may require history, physical examination, laboratory tests, and imaging modalities. Management could be conservative (endoscopy) or invasive (gastrotomy, enterotomy, or enterectomy). A 1-year-5-month-old male Boerboel dog was presented with a history of vomiting, anorexia, and reduced activities. The dog has been known to chew indiscriminately on non-edible materials. The dog was dull and recumbent, abdominal palpation revealed a hard mass at the mid-ventral abdomen, eliciting pain. A survey abdominal radiograph showed dilated, gas-filled intestinal loops with an intraluminal mass of varying radiopacity. Based on the diagnosis of intestinal obstruction, a laparo-enterotomy was performed under general anaesthesia, and foreign materials (sponges, rubber band, cloth material, woods and rope with metal materials) were evacuated from the jejunum. The dog’s recovery was uneventful. Provision of commercial food with adequate mineral supplements, edible chewing materials, social environment, and routine walks for dogs, particularly kenneled dogs, are recommended to ease boredom and enrich their lives.