The Pip Predicament

By Kay Hisano | Dated July 1, 2025

Sweet little Mitsy, a 3-year-old Cavoodle, recently came to the clinic for persistent vomiting and regurgitation. Despite some initial treatment, she was unable to keep anything down—and her radiographs revealed a very distended stomach, raising concern for an obstruction further down the line.

With her symptoms worsening, the decision was made to take Mitsy into surgery. During the exploratory laparotomy, we discovered the culprit: a fruit pip firmly lodged in her small intestine.

As it turns out, this wasn’t Mitsy’s first encounter with pips—her owners shared that she has a bit of an odd

 obsession with them and has tried to snack on them before. Unfortunately, these smooth, rounded objects are the perfect size to become stuck, and when they do, they can cause serious intestinal blockages requiring urgent surgical intervention.

Thankfully, Mitsy’s surgery went smoothly and she is now in recovery, surrounded by love and close monitoring from our team. We’re all hoping for a speedy and uneventful recovery for this precious girl.

Mitsy’s story is a good reminder that even small, seemingly harmless objects like fruit pips can pose a big danger to our pets. If your dog has a curious appetite or a known habit of scavenging, it’s worth taking a little extra care to keep things like seeds, pips, socks, or toys well out of reach.