Dog impaled on foot-long stick near Beverley home

A LABRADOR had a lucky escape after a foot-long stick went through her throat.

A Sunday afternoon stroll turned into a nightmare for eight-year-old Rosie, when she became impaled on a stick that was embedded in the ground.

Eileen Brown and Pete Emerton had taken their dog to play in a green area close to their home in Cherry Tree Lane in Beverley.

"Rosie had lost sight of a ball we had thrown for her," said Eileen.

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"She then noticed a long stick, which was stuck in the ground at a 45-degree angle, and pounced on it.

"There were three girls making a noise, so I thought it was one of them when I heard a high-pitched scream. It was Rosie and she was walking around in circles. I was horrified."

Eileen broke the stick twice and got in touch with a relative to find an emergency vet.

"It was a horrendous injury," she said. "She lost an awful lot of blood.

"I went to pieces at the vets. It was then I realised how bad it was.

"It could have been life-threatening. Even if she withstood the operation, if she didn't eat afterwards she would probably have had to be put down."

Vet Paul Atkinson said: "We anaesthetised Rosie so we could take X-rays and assess the damage. The stick had gone under her tongue and down her neck.

"We operated on her immediately to remove the stick, which was over a foot long, and stitched the wound under her tongue, where the stick had gone in.

"Rosie has been very lucky because she could have damaged the muscles that are responsible for swallowing and she could also have had complications from infection and splinters.

"We kept her in for two days and put her on antibiotics and pain relief and she has now made a good recovery."

Now Rosie is back at home and making a good recovery.

"With it being a Sunday, we knew we would need an emergency vet," Eileen said.

"Pete's brother contacted Kingston Veterinary Group and we got her straight into their surgery in Hull.

"I can't praise Kingston Vets enough.

"They had a team ready for us as soon as we got there and they gave us updates on Rosie's progress every couple of hours.

"She is recovering well. Apart from a patch on her leg where the drip went in, you would never know what had happened to her.

"We kept her in as long as we could, but it was no good only taking her out for ten minutes.

"She does tire easily, but when we say it is time to come home she comes back straightaway – she would never have done that before."