An Oklahoma woman has learned the hard way not to leave her wedding rings lying around in the presence of her omnivorous Labrador.
When Stephanie Lamb, a married mother of two from Tulsa, noticed that her engagement ring and wedding band vanished from the coffee table where she had left them the night before, she had a pretty good idea who the culprit was.
‘I knew it was Sierra because she’s just a little bit of a troublemaker,’ Lamb said.
Baubles in the belly: Stephanie Lamb's Labrador landed in the hospital after wolfing down her owner's wedding band and engagement ring (pictured on X-ray)
Sticky paws: Sierra snatched the jewels off the coffee table where her owner had left them before turning in
Usual suspect: Mrs Lamb, a mother of two, knew at once who was behind the wedding ring heist
The family took their sticky-pawed black Labrador to Dr Rodney Robards at the Southern Hills Veterinary Hospital, who confirmed their suspicions, reported Fox 23.
An X-ray of Sierra's stomach showed Mrs Lamb's two rings worth $23,000 lodged inside.
Dr Robards decided to perform emergency surgery Wednesday rather than wait for the jewelry to come out the natural way for fear that Sierra’s intestines would be damaged in the process.
Bent out of shape: Lamb's diamond engagement ring (left) emerged from Sierra's belly in one piece, but her wedding band (right) was worse for wear
Big appetite: During her emergency surgery, the veterinarian found sticks and rocks inside the Lab's stomach
As good as new: Sierra now will need several days to recover from her ordeal, but she is expected to be fine
And as it turned out, the four-legged thief had not been limiting herself to gobbling up baubles.
Besides the two rings, the veterinarian also found sticks and rocks inside Sierra’s ample belly.
During the surgery, the doctor successfully extracted the jewels and returned them to their rightful owner, but the wedding band emerged from Sierra's stomach the worse for wear.
Sierra now will need several days to recover from her ordeal, but she is expected to be fine.
