A DOG owner was horrified after her labrador was impaled on a 30cm long stick – sparking a warning to other owners.
Owner Helen Speirs says her beloved three-year-old black labrador Willow often plays alone, flipping sticks in the air and catching them.
And towards the end of a two-hour walk in Strawberry Fields near their Rugby home, Helen heard a ‘blood-curdling’ cry.
The 50-year-old found Willow with blood pouring from her mouth and immediately rushed the distressed dog to Bilton Veterinary Centre.
The stick had gone under Willow’s tongue and ran halfway down her neck.
Vets say it narrowly missed vital vessels, nerves and organs – and had to spend nearly two hours operating on the dog, removing the stick near her shoulder.
Luckily the pooch has now made a full recovery.
Mum-of-two Helen – who also has another dog, an eight-year-old retriever called Brinkley, said: “I was putting Brinkley on his lead when I heard a bloodcurdling cry, it was horrible.
“Willow’s mouth was bleeding profusely but all I could see was about two inches of a thin slither of stick. Luckily I decided not to touch it or try and pull it out. I got her into my car and took her straight to the vets.
“It had just missed her spine and all her major nerves and vital organs.
“It breaks your heart to realise how amazing and resilient they are.”
Now Helen is issuing a warning to dog owners not to throw sticks, and like Willow, not to let them play with them alone.
She said: “She is on soft toys and balls now. I need to take ownership of a tennis ball company the rate they go through them.
“She keeps trying to pick up sticks, so I just give her another ball.
“We all know we shouldn’t really throw sticks. Unless something like this happens, you don’t think about how horrific an injury they can have, and so easily as well. It happened in a split-second at the end of a walk.
“I couldn’t feel any worse about it, that’s why I’m so adamant about raising awareness about it.
“I wouldn’t want either of my dogs to go through something like that ever again.
“The pain and emotional stress it causes for the owners as well is horrendous, but dogs can’t speak for themselves so it’s our duty to make sure these things don’t happen to them.”
Staff at Bilton Veterinary Centre, where Willow was treated, echoed Helen’s advice and say owners should never throw sticks for their dogs.
He said: “Every year, we see at least one dog that receives a serious injury as a result of playing with sticks.
“Please never, ever throw sticks for dogs.
“This is not an uncommon injury and is often far worse – and can be fatal.”
