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Dog eats 16 rocks and lives to bark about it

A golden retriever from Minnesota has had a rocky week.Gordon, 7, had to undergo emergency surgery on Wednesday afternoon after eating 16 river rocks weighing 1.79 pounds from near the backyard garden of his owners. A two-hour procedure by Dr. Jeff Yu at the BluePearl veterinary center in Eden Prairie, Minn., removed the rocks, and the dog spent the rest of Wednesday and all of Thursday recuperati

A golden retriever from Minnesota has had a rocky week.

Gordon, 7, had to undergo emergency surgery on Wednesday afternoon after eating 16 river rocks weighing 1.79 pounds from near the backyard garden of his owners. A two-hour procedure by Dr. Jeff Yu at the BluePearl veterinary center in Eden Prairie, Minn., removed the rocks, and the dog spent the rest of Wednesday and all of Thursday recuperating before returning home Friday.

Gordon, a 7-year-old golden retriever from Minnesota, needed emergency surgery after eating nearly two pounds of rocks, seen here in an X-ray.
Gordon, a 7-year-old golden retriever from Minnesota, needed emergency surgery after eating nearly two pounds of rocks, seen here in an X-ray.Today

“Gordon is doing great and is now back at home with his family,’’ BluePearl spokesman James Judge told TODAY.com. “I’m not entirely sure, but I believe his owners have hidden all of the other rocks in the yard to prevent this from happening again.”

Gordon is now back home with his owners in Edina, Minn., after a two-hour surgery on Wednesday and a day-and-a-half recovery at the BluePearl veterinary center in Eden Prairie.
Gordon is now back home with his owners in Edina, Minn., after a two-hour surgery on Wednesday and a day-and-a-half recovery at the BluePearl veterinary center in Eden Prairie.Today

On Tuesday night, his owners, a family from Edina, Minn. who Judge said wish to remain anonymous, noticed Gordon's stomach looked a little big. The dog passed a rock when he went to the bathroom, and Wednesday morning they took him to an emergency veterinary hospital, which referred them to BluePearl. Gordon was put on an IV following the surgery before switching to oral medication.

Gordon ate 16 river rocks from his owners' garden. \"We get some wild cases, but the sheer amount is what made this one different,\" a BluePearl spokesperson said.
Gordon ate 16 river rocks from his owners' garden. \"We get some wild cases, but the sheer amount is what made this one different,\" a BluePearl spokesperson said.Today

The facility has had cases of dogs eating forks, fishing hooks and more, but Gordon’s plight stood out.

“We get some wild cases, but just the sheer amount is what made this one different,’’ Judge said. “It’s not unusual to see dogs take something down. I talked to his owners, and they said I would have to ask Gordon why he would eat that when there’s plenty of great food served every day.”