PET owners are being warned to keep their animals safe during barbecue season after a young dog nearly died after swallowing a wooden kebab skewer.

Boris the Sprocker’s life hung in the balance after he swallowed the skewer which went through his stomach and ended up floating in his abdomen.

Only an emergency operation and round-the-clock veterinary care was able to save the 12-month-old, whose frightening ordeal has led to owner Jo Baynham, of Malvern, warning other pet owners to take care when holding barbecues and outdoor parties.

“Steer clear of wooden kebab skewers. They are now banned in our house and I would urge other pet owners to do the same,” said Mrs Baynham.

“It’s just not worth the risk. Keep any items that could be dangerous to your pets locked away.”

When Boris’ condition deteriorated, Mrs Baynham rushed him to the Best Friends Veterinary Surgery in Worcester Road, Malvern.

“Boris was in a collapsed and compromised state having deteriorated at home over the previous few hours,” said practice principal Jon Slattery.

“He was immediately assessed, stabilised and operated on by the duty veterinary surgeon and the offending foreign body removed.”

Mrs Baynham is full of praise for the team at Best Friends and Vets Now – an out-of-hours service used by Best Friends surgery – who saved Boris and she will always remember just how close she came to losing her dog. The vet who operated on Boris believes the skewer could have been inside him for about a week. He must have been in so much pain.”

Boris’ emergency is similar to many that are seen by Vets Now as the temperatures rise and people host alfresco parties and barbecues, often unknowingly putting their pets at risk of injury and poisoning.

Aioife O’Sullivan, head of clinical operations at Vets Now, said: “We always see a number of unusual injuries at this time of year and barbecues and summertime parties in particular are very dangerous for pets.

“From pets getting their tails stuck in patio doors, breaking their legs on trampolines, eating kebab skewers, ingesting bones, food poisoning or injuries from stealing piping hot food from the barbecue.”

Boris has now made a full recovery and is back to his energetic self.

“The vets were all fantastic and the phone calls to keep us posted of his progress were wonderful,” said Mrs Baynham.

“It is simply down to all the wonderful, dedicated vets that we still have our little Boris.”

For more advice on how to keep your pet safe, go to vets-now.com/SummerSafety.