Dogs are known for grabbing anything they can reach with their mouths. Anyone who lives with a pup understands how often they try to chew, lick, or swallow items that clearly do not belong as food.
Plenty of pet parents have caught their dogs attempting to gulp down random objects. That is exactly what happened to the unlucky Spaniel at the center of this story.
“What The Duck?!”
Dr. Shelby Baden summed up the entire situation with just one line: “What The Duck?!” The phrase might sound silly, yet it captured the strange scene unfolding in front of her.
The Florida veterinarian posted an Instagram clip that showed the Spaniel completely asleep under anesthesia on the operating table, resting peacefully with no idea that its stomach had created a commotion among the team.
While the dog slept, the veterinary staff carefully worked inside the pup’s abdomen to remove an unusual item.
The video also featured the X-ray image, which clearly displayed something jammed inside the stomach.
Even though Dr. Baden already knew what object was causing the problem, she and her coworkers were still caught off guard when they finally saw it through the scope.
What they found was a tiny green rubber duck. Somehow, the Spaniel had swallowed the toy in one large gulp. The team managed to pull the strange item out safely, bringing the risky situation to an end.
Getting Every Duck Back Together
The dog’s owner brought the Spaniel to the clinic as soon as they realized what had happened. Despite the chaos, they arrived carrying the remaining five ducks from the same toy set, almost as if they felt the other ducks needed to be present for emotional support.
In an interview with Yahoo News Australia, Dr. Baden explained, “Even though they were in a state of emergency, the owner remembered to take other ducks from the set (five of them) as moral support for their rubber brother.”
The clinic staff decided to make the best of the odd moment. After removing the swallowed duck and cleaning the toy, they placed it beside the rest of the set, turning the exam table into a playful reunion scene.
A Warning Hidden Beneath The Laughter
Once posted online, the clip spread quickly, and people were left puzzled by the sudden appearance of multiple rubber ducks since the original post did not explain why they were present.
While the video amused plenty of viewers, Dr. Baden had a more serious intention behind documenting the procedure. She hoped to remind pet owners how easily dogs can gulp down toys or small objects that seem harmless at first glance.
According to Growls And Howls Animal Rescue’s, more than 200,000 choking incidents involving dogs occur in the United States every year.
Thankfully, most of those emergencies do not end in tragedy, yet far too many situations still lead to heartbreak for families.
This case stands as a clear reminder that even toys that look safe or seem too big to swallow need to be watched closely. Dogs are famous for chewing on things they are not supposed to have, and once they focus on getting something into their mouths, they rarely give up until the item disappears down their throat.