A woman in Wisconsin recently found her lost wedding ring, which had been missing for five years. She found it when her dog, Tucker, vomited it up. (And no, he’s not a Lab!)
I shared the story on my Facebook page, commenting that, as a veterinarian, inside the dog was the first place I’d have looked. Several readers wondered just how the ring could have bided its time all those years.
In my experience, it’s not uncommon for metal objects such as coins, baby spoons, batteries, or even knives to go missing and turn up years later on a radiograph.
I asked my good friend and colleague Dr. Tony Johnson, a critical care specialist, for his expert explanation of why that ring sat around for so long, neither causing problems nor, as it were, re-emerging. His words:
I concur with the good doctor. As long as it is non-toxic (like zinc from bolts and pennies minted after 1982) and not causing an obstruction, it just sits in the stomach, quietly biding its time until the world is ready for it to reappear. Like David Hasselhoff. Much like honey badger, stomach just don’t care.
So there you have it!
