Golf Balls � A Dog's Life

We all know that dogs love nothing more than to fetch but dogs and golf balls don't necessarily mix.

3,000 Golf Balls

It's not the usual profile of a golf club member � hairy, likes bones, sniffing smelly things and running after its tail. But Deuce, a mongrel terrier was granted life membership of a British golf club in Wales after collecting 3,000 golf balls.

Fetch!

The owner of Deuce, Mr Phillis told the golf club's local paper that it all began with tennis balls: �It just started as a bit of fun, throwing a tennis ball for him to retrieve it,� he explained. �Then the thought came to me, would he pick up golf balls?�

And collecting the golf balls can be a real challenge when the grass is longer and the ferns have grown � you need the nose of a blood hound to track the golf balls down.

Woof Woof!

The golf balls belong to the Monmouthshire club, which is close to where Mr Phillis and Deuce live, and where he walks his dog every evening. Deuce finds the golf balls in the rough areas at the side of the course, but thankfully the dog leaves moving golf balls untouched: �He just doesn't bother, he isn't trained to do that,� Mr Phillis said, which must be a huge relief for the club's members.

Barking mad

Deuce is awarded his favourite treats for retrieving the golf balls from the club's members � every year they make a collection for a slush fund for the dog. And of course, he is an honorary member although Deuce is not allowed in the club house.

Wolfing them down

Another British dog proved she was barking mad when she swallowed 28 golf balls. Libby, the German shepherd, bewildered vets who had to operate on the dog after it fell sick after swallowing the golf balls. Libby began to cough up blood a few weeks after collecting balls at the Manchester golf course where his owner, Mike Wardrop, worked. The vets didn't even do an X-ray of Libby's stomach as they could hear the golf balls rattling around.

New balls please

Even the vets were shocked about the number of golf balls that came out of Libby's stomach. They had betted around 11, not 28. The golf balls weighted six pounds altogether and it took two and half hours to remove them along with 30 stitches. Mr Wardrop was amazed his dog could swallow them whole without choking.

�I've had to buy her two footballs,� Mr Wardrop said. �She can't swallow those.�

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