A much-loved red Labrador with smelly breath and an unusual sneezing habit has made a full recovery – after vets discovered a 10-centimetre stick lodged deep in his nasal passage.

Six-year-old Simba had been suffering for months with halitosis, reverse sneezing (a rapid inhaling of air through the nose), a foul-smelling green discharge and a nosebleed, leaving his owners, Hannah and Richard Lofthouse from Kirkby Stephen, increasingly concerned.

Despite his discomfort, Simba remained his usual happy and playful self, but his owners were at their wits’ end and turned to Oakhill Vets in Windermere – which provides specialist surgical referral services for pets across Cumbria – for answers.

Vet Ellen Greenop anaesthetised Simba and used a rhinoscope, a gold-standard diagnostic tool for nasal conditions in animals, to examine his nasal cavity. What she found was astonishing.

“A 10cm stick was firmly lodged up his nose and would have been very uncomfortable and sore for him,” said Ellen. “It was such a relief to find the cause and to know it could be treated.

“You wouldn’t necessarily connect smelly breath with a stick up the nose – it’s more commonly linked to dental problems or anal glands. How it got there is a mystery, but dogs can sometimes get blades of grass or other objects stuck this way.”

Using a specialist tool attached to the rhinoscope, Ellen was able to carefully remove the stick. Simba has since made a swift and full recovery, much to the relief of his devoted owners.

Hannah said: “From a young age, Simba has loved putting his head under water and digging for stones, and we wonder if that’s how the stick got up his nose. Around Christmas he had a nosebleed, and in hindsight we wonder if that’s when it happened.

“It was quite a shock when we found out it was a stick. Every time he got excited, he would do a reverse sneeze and there was a terrible smell from his mouth. It’s such a relief to know the cause and to see him back to his usual self.

“We’re just so grateful to the team at Oakhill Vets – they found the answer and solved the problem.”

Pictured: Vet Ellen Greenop with the rhinoscope used to remove a stick from Simba’s nose – by Jonathan Becker