Frankie's Friends Helps New York City Dog That Swallowed 111 Pennies

By Katie Kindelan

A Jack Russell terrier who took the phrase, “keep the change,” very literally is recovering in New York City today after swallowing more than 111 pennies.

The dog, appropriately named Jack, swallowed at least $1.11 in change last weekend while his owner, Tim Kelleher, wasn’t looking, according to Dr. Amy Zalcman, the senior emergency doctor at BluePearl Veterinary Partners who oversaw Jack’s treatment.

Kelleher took Jack to the BluePearl clinic in Manhattan Saturday afternoon after he noticed the pennies were gone and his dog was sick and vomiting.

X-rays performed on the 13-year-old dog immediately showed a collection of pennies inside his body so veterinarians performed an endoscopy, using a camera to locate the pennies.  It took an internal  medicine specialist nearly two hours to remove all of the 111 pennies still left in Jack’s system.  The doctor removed them four to five at a time, grabbing them with the scope and placing them in an attached basket, according to Zalcman.

“I would say he’s a very lucky dog,” she told ABCNews.com.  “First, that we were able to get them all out by scope and not surgery, and that he hasn’t had any secondary signs of zinc toxicity.”

Owner Kelleher told the New York Daily News his “voracious Tasmanian devil” of a pet was going after a bagel when he got the pennies instead.

“He climbed on my desk to get at the bag with the bagel and knocked the change all over the floor,” said Kelleher, who could not be reached today by ABCNews.com.  “While he was licking up the crumbs, he swallowed the pennies.”

Zalcman said the zinc pennies could have caused damage to Jack’s kidneys, liver and red blood cells and eventually blocked his intestines, especially given the amount that he swallowed.

“We certainly see pennies consumed by dogs but not in this magnitude,” she said.  “That’s what is so extreme about this case.”

Jack’s owner said his dog is back to his normal self after the nearly $2,500 procedure, part of which was paid for by Tampa-based Frankie’s Friends, an animal charity.

“He’s driving me crazy again,” Kelleher told the Daily News.

Lucy Gets Last Minute Life-Saving Surgery From Frankie's Friends

On Dec. 16, 2012, we rushed Lucy, a fawn colored American mastiff (she's quite the looker!), to the Blue Pearl Veterinary Partners in Manhattan with seizures. She has epilepsy that is generally controlled very well with her daily medications. However, this particular evening she had eight seizures in 90 minutes. We got her to BluePearl as soon as possible. Once Lucy was stabilized and the seizures under control, the doctors found that Lucy had a foreign object in her stomach. She had swallowed a glove. Because the glove was blocking her intestines, her medications were not being delivered to her system properly which brought about the cluster of seizures.  Now that everything had been figured out and she was ready to have the surgery to remove the glove, came the financial estimate for surgery.

Needless to say it was way beyond our means at the time. We agonized over night and the next morning. Finally we had resigned ourselves to having Lucy euthanized. It was the hardest decision either of us have ever made. Our Lucy, our sweet, sweet Lucy was not going to get the surgery that she so desperately needed and we were completely helpless to do anything about it.

It was the most awful, gut-wrenching, helpless feeling I've ever felt. Completely lost.  As we were readying ourselves for the subway ride to BluePearl to visit Lucy and say goodbye, my phone rang. It was Dr. Gibeon, that morning's attending vet, with news that Frankie's Friends by way of Dr. Amanda Owens had granted the funding required to save Lucy. We couldn't believe it! Trying to put the feeling of hearing that into words is impossible. I've tried so many times.

"Thank you" doesn't seem like enough, but it's the simplest and most honest. So, thank you.

THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!   THANK YOU!!!

- Robert & Jim

Tish Now Loves Central Park After Frankie's Friends Help

Hi, My name is Morticia, "Tish" for short. I am now five months old. I was born in Missouri and shipped to a NYC pet store as a young puppy.

One day not long after I had gotten to the pet store a young man came along and saw me there. He fell in love with me and took me home with him. I never really felt very good, even at the pet store. I didn't eat well and then I stopped eating.

I ended up in the intensive care unit at BluePearl Veterinary Partners specialty and emergency pet hospital after being in my new home less than a week. I was a very sick pup and almost died. My stay at the vet hospital was a financial drain on my new owner and his family.

They were thinking they may have to give up the fight and stop treatment when a donation from Frankie's Friends came through to try one more treatment. It was an expensive procedure but due to the donation it was able to be tried.

It worked! I started to get stronger. I was able to return home after more than a week at the hospital to recover. I now feel pretty good. I love to eat and love to go to Central Park to romp and play with all my new dog friends.

Thank you so much, without your donation we may not have been able to continue treatment. It was a turning point for me.

I hope many people continue to donate to Frankie's Friends to help other families and their pets. It certainly helped save my life. I continue to bring such joy to my owner and everyone I meet each day.

From the bottom of our hearts we thank you,

Tish & Tom and family