My dog ate my engagement ring – what do I do?

Our question this week was:

Dr. Jon – you aren't going to believe this but my dog ate my engagement ring. I had it out to show my parents (I am proposing on Valentines Day) and my lab jumped up and ate it. It was about 2 or 3 hours ago. What should I do?

Michael H, Columbus Ohio


Answer

Hi Michael– thanks for your email. Bummer. Don't panic. Believe it or not, I've seen this happen before. If the ingestion was recently, I'd recommend inducing vomiting to get it out. For instructions on how to do this, read How to Induce Vomiting (Emesis) in Dogs. By recent, I mean within the past hour or two.

If the ingestion was longer than that, I'd recommending feeding him and walking him and scooping up ALL bowel movements and watching them.

Also, if it was my dog, I'd probably go to the vet and have an x-ray done to see where it is. I've had some clients THINK their dog ate the ring but it isn't there.