A GREEDY gull nicknamed Dog bit off more than it could chew in Mervyn Hardman’s kitchen.
Instead of the usual titbits it gobbled up the result of the 90-year-old’s home dentistry.
‘I’d just managed to pull out a nagging tooth and was polishing it up when it slipped out of my fingers.
‘Quick as a flash Dog swallowed it down and flapped off out the kitchen door,’ said the frail widower at his Dawlish flat.
‘I’d been looking forward to showing off that old molar to my son. It had been giving me such trouble and I couldn’t get a dental appointment
‘Luckily it was a bit loose so finally, with a lot of effort, I managed to yank it out myself. But sadly I’d let the bird in for his afternoon snack and he pounced.
‘It’s my own fault. I started feeding him bits of bread or cake and he’s got into the habit of pecking at the door round about four o’clock to be let in.
‘He normally gets and spare bits of grub I’ve got lying about. That’s usually soft food so he’s going to have trouble digesting my tooth.
His son Rex, who visits every day, added: ‘I knew he was getting a lot of pain from his tooth so I was impressed when he said he’d pulled it out by himself.
‘I was even more amazed when he told me ‘Dog’ had gone off with it – he hasn’t got any pets.
‘But he explained it was like a dog with a ball the way it keep coming back to him so that’s what he called it.
‘I’ve been there since when it has tapped on the door with it’s beak to be let in. And the tooth doesn’t seem to have had any bad effects. I suppose gulls can digest anything.’