Over the weekend, Finn my 7yr old husky, like most pups, had too much fun at the beach playing in the sand. After about 3 hours of playing with his fur friends, I noticed he was eating the sand, so we left so he could get home, eat, and rest after a long morning out at the beach. He was quite the happy boy after playing with his friends; he went home, ate, and took a long nap.

Overnight, he took a turn and started throwing up what appeared to be bile and sand. I was immediately concerned and went to Google what I should do. Sand impaction is when a dog ingests sand, and if too much (as little as a tbsp) is ingested, it can block passageways in their stomach and intestines, causing failure, dehydration, and even death if not treated properly.

Immediately concerned about how much he ingested, I searched for a nearby vet hospital (open on Sunday was the most difficult and gut-wrenching search in this town) because no clinic was open.

I took him to Bay Beach Vet Hospital in Virginia Beach, where he was immediately seen... thank goodness! They did X-rays and bloodwork to check on his condition. They found a big pocket of sand in his stomach and lines of sand in his intestines. The pocket in his stomach was concerning, about the size of a small potato, because when sand gets wet (bodily fluid now making the sand wet), sand clumps, and if not treated properly, it can be incredibly hard to pass, and the overwhelming amount of salt would cause him to dehydrate.

The vet hospital recommended that he stay over 12-24 hours on IV fluid and other fluids to ensure he stayed hydrated and the sand could break down to pass.

The first 12 hours were the hardest and scariest of my life, not knowing if the mound of sand would move and how much pain he’d be in.

They gave him several enemas to encourage the passing through his bowels. By the 12th hour, still no bowel movement, but an X-ray proved the sand was making its way down.

Another 12 hours were spent at the hospital to monitor him.

Following the 22-hour mark, great news, he passed most of the sand and had responded very well to all fluids. He was released to come home!

There is still a small amount of sand we are waiting to pass, but nothing near his original state.

We are so fortunate we got in early, and he’s a tough boy; he did so well for the vets.

Because we needed to go to emergency care, being it a Sunday scare, the required treatment costs were around double what they’d be at our clinic.

We humbly ask for any support you’re able to contribute financially. Finn and I are incredibly grateful for any contribution our friends and family are able to give.

He’s showing great signs that he’s on the mend. He was released this morning, Monday 3/31, and is napping and close to eating. He’s shown signs that he’s still the smiliest boy, very happy to be home and on his patio to rest.

Thank you for taking the time to read our story, I hope this share brings awareness to the risks of sand impaction ❤️