Puppy swallows eight-inch kitchen knife and survives
A 12-week-old Staffordshire bull terrier survived swallowing an 8in (20cm) kitchen knife - because she ingested the handle-end first.
The vet who delivered life-saving emergency surgery said: "The blade-end would undoubtedly have pierced her organs, likely causing fatal injuries."
Macie's owner Irene Paisley had rushed the family's new dog to a PDSA emergency out-of-hours vet service when she began choking after making a "squeaking sound" before being sick.
X-rays showed the knife lodged in the puppy's intestines, with the tip of the blade still in her gullet.
PDSA vet Emily Ronald said: "I've never seen an X-ray like Macie's. She was extremely lucky to survive. Her saving grace was that she swallowed the handle-end first."
Ms Paisley said Macie had begun to bleed through the nose when she arrived at the vets and "couldn't believe it" when she was told her pet had swallowed a knife.
Macie's emergency surgery meant a sleepless night for Ms Paisley, her partner and four children as they waited at home for news.
The family had featured the worst having lost their previous Staffie to cancer two months earlier.
"I was terrified," Ms Paisley said. "Poor Macie was still choking and, by the time we arrived at the vet's, there was blood coming out of her nose. The loss of our previous dog was still very raw and the thought of losing Macie was devastating."
But vet Ms Ronald happily reported Macie was "bouncing all over the place as if nothing had happened" the morning after the surgery.
The puppy, who is now almost 15 weeks old, is now recovering at home.