Aberdeen dog owner issues warning after dog dies from swallowing plastic bottle lid

An Aberdeen dog owner is encouraging people to bin their rubbish after her dog died from swallowing a bottle cap.

Alison Cameron's 9-year-old Vizsla, Bracken, underwent a complicated three-hour surgery where vets discovered a new style of plastic bottle cap had punctured his intestines in several places.

He was taken home after the operation but passed away a short time later.

"He was larger than life and not just because he was a big dog.

"Everybody loved him and so many people knew him." Alison said.

Since posting on social media warning people of the dangers of dogs ingesting these plastic bottle caps, Alison said she has received hundreds of messages of support.

She continued: "Anyone who knows me knows he was everything to us.

"Nine years of a lot of joy. He was a very happy boy."

The vets explained to Alison the prongs from the bottle cap - which is designed to stay on the bottle - are what caused the damage.

It is unclear how long the bottle cap was in his system but it is believed to have been longer than a week.

Alison explained that if it been a normal bottle cap, the vets would have suggested to let it pass through his system.

She continued: "We have to live with the fact that we didn't see him pick it up but if it hadn't been there in the first place or if it had still been attached to the bottle he would still be here now."

The attached bottle caps were introduced in the EU last year, which has also impacted the UK.

It was enforced with the aim of reducing plastic waste and promoting recycling by disposing of the bottle and the cap together.

Alison is now hoping to alert people to the dangers of dogs ingesting the bottle caps and encouraging people to pick up litter if they come across it.

She said: "A tiny little one centimetre bit of plastic means my dog isn't here.

"It takes one second to just pick it up and put it in the bin. Just bin it for Bracken."

Alison is also looking to team up with Stonehaven-based Paws on Plastic to organise a beach clean-up in memory of Bracken.

The initiative was founded by Marion Montgomery in 2018 and has reached people across the globe, with the idea of using daily dog walks to pick up pieces of litter.

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