Dog owner's warning after pet 'nearly dies' inhaling grass seed

A pet owner has been left "petrified" and is warning other owners after her dog almost died from inhaling grass seed. Portia the two-year-old Saluki x Collie was rescued after having an unfortunate start to life being left starving in a cage in 2023 until her luck changed being adopted by owner, Lisa Charles.

Unfortunately, Portia's bad luck returned on Wednesday, June 12, when she became ill after inhaling a grass seed whilst running through a field in the Porthkerry area in the Vale of Glamorgan. Lisa says: "It never crossed my mind that I was putting my dogs at risk by letting them run through the grass at this time of year when the grass is seeding."

Whilst grass seeds - small, pointy seeds that are attached to the tops of long grass stems - may look unassuming, they can be harmful to dogs if they end up in the wrong place. Some owners may have knowledge of the seeds posing a threat if stuck in their pets, eyes, ears or paws as these are more common places to find them, whereas they can become lethal if found inside the body.

READ MORE: Council to continue lollipop people review after backlash from concerned parents

READ MORE: 'Abnormal' classification removed from beautiful Ogmore by Sea beach but water remains 'poor'

Lisa first noticed that Portia began coughing after leaving the field but thought that she may have something stuck in her throat. As a precaution, Lisa visited a veterinary nurse who checked over Portia and found that her vitals were normal and did not have any cause for concern. When the cough became constant during the night, Lisa visited her local vets where again Portia's vitals came back as normal but was given anti-inflammatories for her sore throat from her cough. Try WalesOnline Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features

It wasn't until the following week that Portia become very ill. Lisa said: "She seemed to be going down hill before my eyes because she'd been eating right up until that point and relatively normal apart from the cough, then all of a sudden she was so lethargic and couldn't be bothered to walk. She just wasn't my dog."

Lisa rushed back to the vets where she was advised to hospitalise Portia overnight after her temperature had sky-rocketed. A CT scan was done and sent to specialists in Bristol who discovered that there was a possibility that she had or had had grass seeds in two parts of her lung. For the latest Welsh news delivered to your inbox sign up to our newsletter

Vets discovered that not only had Portia developed pneumonia but she also had an abscess in one section of her lung. They strongly advised surgery in which one lobe of hers was removed and the grass seed was removed from a second lobe that the seed had migrated to.

According to Lisa the vet told her: "Surgery was the best thing we could have done. There wouldn't have been a happy ending if we hadn't had the surgery." There is still a risk of there being more grass seed in Portia's lung that was not found during surgery which has meant that Lisa is constantly checking for symptoms.

Portia is currently recovering from her surgery which is expected to take around six weeks. Her staples can be removed after ten days along with crate rest and lead walking for up to three weeks and no running for six weeks. As a "happy, full of life" dog who wants to play recovery is proving "hard" for the family.

Lisa says the experience was "petrifying" for her. She says: "When I realised that she was going down so quickly and that her temperature was so high, we were at the point of 'is she going to die?' and to have such major surgery there was a risk of her dying on the table too."

As well as her own dogs, Portia and Trevor, Lisa's life revolves around beloved animals as the founder of ZOOM-eze, a pet taxi service in the Vale of Glamorgan. Alongside her service she is planning to introduce retail which will include masks for dogs that will help protect them from getting grass seed in their eyes and inhaling it. She says: "I don't want to risk this ever happening again."

The RSPCA have tips on their website to help owners prevent this from happening to their beloved pets. These include:

• Always check your dog for grass seeds after walks in long grass.

• Try to prevent your dog running around in long grass if they are prone to grass seed problems.