Michigan Police dog requires surgery after ingesting rocks

The incident occurred after Rocco’s handler, Austin Diekevers, discarded crock pot scraps onto his deck, inadvertently coating landscaping rocks with the flavorful drippings.

“I made some old beef sandwiches in a crock pot,” Diekevers explained. “Usually feed our chickens the scraps, and I threw it over my deck, and some of the crock pot juice got on some of my landscaping rocks.”

Within minutes, Rocco ingested the rocks coated in the food remnants.

“I could see that he was trying to, like, chew the rocks,” Diekevers stated. Initially, veterinarians were not overly concerned, as Rocco was eating and drinking normally.

However, a day later, Diekevers noticed a change in Rocco’s appetite and felt rocks in his stomach.

“Got a little concerned and felt his stomach, and I could actually hear the rocks inside of his stomach,” he said. “So, I knew that there was more than I had initially thought.”

Rocco was taken to a local animal hospital where X-rays confirmed the presence of rocks in his stomach.

This marks Rocco’s second medical emergency this year; in April, he suffered a severe injury when he impaled himself on a fire pit.

“The animal hospital actually saved his life in April,” Diekevers said. “Very grateful for the animal hospital. The staff, those people are absolutely fantastic there.”

Rocco is currently recovering and is expected to return to duty within a week.