Dogs are incredibly resilient animals, yet when one UK veterinarian laid eyes on a Cocker Spaniel that had been impaled by a piece of metal, no one thought the poor dog would survive.
When dog owner Jo-Ann Keen watched her dog Dave wander into a bush, he was perfectly healthy, When he walked out, however, there was a rusty, 18-inch metal stake poking through the left side of his neck and coming out beside his right elbow.
Keen was convinced Dave was going to die, and when the veterinarian team at McMurty & Harding saw the eight-year-old dog, they figured he wouldn’t last much longer. Yet when they looked at an x-ray, they were stunned to see that the spike miraculously missed all the vital organs and blood vessels. The only real damage was to the esophagus.
“He was very lucky. Everybody thought he was going to die, because they didn’t know what it had hit, if anything,”Keen said. “To say he was a brave dog was a bit of an understatement,” said veterinary nurse Karen Mackin. “The stake had actually pierced him through the left side of his neck and came out behind his right elbow. After giving Dave fluid therapy and pain relief, he was anaesthetised and a series of X-rays revealed that despite the horrific sight of the spike piercing his body, it missed organs that would have killed him outright had they been struck. Fortunately, the damage was much less than it could have been.”
“However, there was some damage to the dog’s esophagus which meant he was not able to take food or water,” Mackin said. The team placed a stomach tube to feed and hydrate Dave for about two weeks until his throat healed enough to start eating and drinking on his own. Since receiving treatment, which cost Keen £2,000 or almost $2,500 USD, Dave has made a complete recovery. “Throughout it all, he remained a happy and affectionate patient,” Mackin said.
What would you do if you found your beloved pet like this? Let us know what you think in the comments below and please SHARE this with friends on Facebook.
[Featured image: McMurtry & Harding]
Dog Makes Full Recovery After Being Impaled With Metal Spike is an article from: LifeDaily