The owners of a pug who had to be rushed to hospital have thanked the Essex vets who saved his life.

Image above caption: Ziggy Stardust has recovered following the removal of a giant furball from the pug’s stomach.

A CT scan revealed a huge furball in the stomach and intestine, which Ziggy had acquired due to his habit of licking floors and carpets.

He underwent surgery and was back to full health just a few weeks after being treated by Southfields’ internal medicine and soft tissue teams.

Surgery resident Vasileia Logothetou, who led Ziggy’s treatment, said the operation went smoothly: “We managed to remove the furball through a single incision in the stomach.

“Ziggy’s giant furball was due to his bad habit of licking carpets and floors, which is commonly seen in cats, but rarely in dogs.

“He recovered well from surgery and was discharged two days later. After two weeks of rest, he had his stitches removed and was back to his cheeky, cheerful self.”

Image above caption: Ziggy Stardust has recovered following the removal of a giant furball from the pug’s stomach.

To prevent any future hairballs, his owners Jo and Peter say they are putting changes in place to ensure Ziggy does not have the same problem again.

Peter, who lives in Rayleigh, said: “Ziggy always had this habit but we are over-vigilant to stop him now. It’s like his mission to constantly lick the floors!

“We’ve even bought a new hoover and also brush him regularly outside, so his hair doesn’t go on the floor. We are doing all we can to stop it happening again.

“We are so grateful to the team at Southfields that we still have our little ‘Starman’. The Southfields team are definitely Ziggy Stardust’s ‘Heroes’!”