Dog’s 'cancer' turns out to be 4 chewed-up teddy bears

(CBS News) - A family in England got a pleasant surprise after taking their dog to the vet. They were worried that the 8-year-old St. Bernard named Maisy had cancer. But when veterinarians got Maisy into the operating room, they made a surprising discovery: it wasn't cancer at all, but actually four chewed-up teddy bears she'd swallowed.

Initially, a CT scan had shown an unusually full stomach and a mass on the dog's spleen, which led her veterinarian to diagnose possible cancer, the BBC reports.

It was during an operation to remove the organ that vet Nick Blackburn of Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield, England, found the soft toys in her stomach.

"This was not something we were expecting to find. We all know certain dogs enjoy chewing things they shouldn't but managing to devour four full teddy bears is quite a feat," Blackburn told the BBC.

The toys were removed, and Maisy has since made a full recovery and shows no signs of cancer, Blackburn said.

Maisy's owner, Jane Dickinson, told the BBC that the recovered toys were stolen from the family's Chihuahuas.

She said that since the surgery, Maisy has improved drastically.

"When Maisy went in I did think 'is she coming out?' But she is loving life now," she said. "It's like she's got her youth back."

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