A GREEDY Hampshire dog is lucky to be alive after he swallowed a kebab whole and got the 15in metal skewer stuck in his stomach.

X-ray pictures clearly show the giant piece of metal stretching along chocolate Labrador Howie’s tummy and then up into his gullet.

Howie spotted the skewer, destined for his owners’ barbecue, as it lay on a kitchen worktop laden with chicken cubes marinated in Greek yoghurt along with diced peppers, onions and mushrooms.

The eight-year-old dog jumped up and wolfed it down it in one gulp “like a sword” while owner Sue Woodward’s back was turned.

Software engineer Sue, from Fareham, could only watch in dismay as the skewer vanished down Howie’s throat.

Sue, 45, said: “We were getting ready for a barbecue and my husband Ian had lovingly marinated this chicken. We were really looking forward to it.

“But Howie just swallowed it like a sword.

“Labradors don’t really chew their food so much as inhale it.

“It was a like a vacuum cleaner.

“He just jumped up, grabbed it from the worktop and hoovered it up.

“Ian had made two of these kebabs – so I whipped the second one out of the way but the first was a goner.

Sue rushed Howie to the Vets Now pet emergency service in Portsmouth.

Staff checked his tummy and did x-rays which clearly showed the skewer lodged inside him.

Luckily, they managed to remove it without having to resort to surgery.

“The staff at Vets Now were really kind and really great with Howie. We gave them a big hug when we left for looking after him so well.

“He came running out wagging his tail like nothing had happened.”

Aircraft technician Ian, 49, said: “Howie is quite a character and we wouldn’t change him for the world. But the next time I marinate chicken I’m keeping it well out of his way!”

Carlos Entisne, principal vet at Vets Now in Portsmouth, said: “This is the type of incident that often happens during barbecue season and it shows how dangerous some barbecue foods can be for dogs.”

Mischief-maker Howie had previously munched through his owners’ Venetian blinds as well as breaking into his own food cupboard as well as eating knickers, socks and kitchen sponges.

Mother-of-one Sue said: “We’ve had Howie eat all sorts of things before – he’s eaten knickers, socks, kitchen sponges and he once ate a whole bag of frozen chicken breasts he’d managed to grab.

“We came home from work once and he’d chewed his way through the Venetian blinds on the bay window in our hall.”