Vets said golden retriever Nancy was lucky to be alive as she could have easily punctured a vital organ
A family has spent more than £4,000 saving the life of their dog who impaled herself on a snapped tree trunk. Beloved golden retriever Nancy suffered the horrific injury when she attempted to leap over a jagged tree branch while playing with her owner.
Rhys Williams had taken the five-year-old pooch out for a walk near his home in Cwmbwrla, Wales, on Sunday October 16. He was throwing a ball for Nancy when the gruesome accident occurred.
Nancy jumped over a jagged tree branch and caught herself on it (Image: Rhys Williams)
While returning to her owner, Nancy, who was off the lead, chose to leap over a fallen tree which was laid out on the park as opposed to running around it. She unluckily caught the side of her stomach on wood jutting out from a branch.
Mr Williams, 49, heard his dog yelp and called her over to check if she was okay. Speaking to WalesOnline, he said: “”Her tail was between her legs and I knew something wasn’t right.”
Spotting a “little bit of blood” on the dog’s fur, Mr Williams decided to take her home where she sat on her favourite place by the window. Upon closer inspection, he was shocked to see a large wound, which looked serious and was bleeding. Mr Williams’ step-daughter almost passed out after looking at the painful gash.
Nancy is unable to move around and cannot go for walks until her wounds heal which could take months (Image: Rhys Williams)
The cherished pet was rushed to the PDSA because it was out of hours for the vets. Nancy’s family was told she had a 32cm tear right under her stomach and along her hind quarters which required instant surgery to sew her back up.
Mr Williams described the wound as “pretty horrific” and said the tree that caused it had fallen in a storm around a year earlier. He added that the vets told him Nancy was lucky to have survived because the tree branch could have punctured a vital organ.
The initial vet bills cost £3,000 and due to issues with the wound healing, Nancy has had to have two other operations since costing around £500 each time. A drain was left in to help Nancy’s stiches heal and she is unable to move around so her wounds can close up.
Medication has cost around £250 and Mr Williams said he had to charge all the vet bills to a credit card in the hope of claiming it back on insurance. However, he will need to pay 15% of the total bill plus consultation fees.
Golden retriever Nancy is 5-years-old, vets told Mr Williams that she may not have survived the operations if she was an older dog (Image: Rhys Williams)
Nancy has undergone anaesthetic three times in just two weeks since the accident and vets told Mr Williams that she was lucky she was young enough to bounce back after each operation as this could have been fatal for an older dog. Mr Williams is now increasingly worried that there will be further complications with her wounds, not only because he is concerned about his canine companion but also because he will exceed his limit on vet fees that can be claimed back.
“I never thought we’d get to this point but some people have suggested I start a GoFundMe page, I’m seriously considering doing that if I have to keep paying out. There’s not much money to spare at the moment and I can’t keep forking out £500 every other week.”
On how Nancy is doing now, Mr Williams said, “Her tail is still wagging, she’s still looking for lots of attention and she’s very needy! She’s been incredibly brave.” Nancy is unable to go on any walks or play with her ball – which Mr Williams said is her favourite thing to do – until the wounds heal which could take months.
After the incident, Mr Williams contacted Cwmbwrla councillor Peter Black CBE, who arranged for the tree to be removed by the council. “I had the tree removed as soon as I could and asked for the stump to be cut down. It was a terrible accident,” said Cllr Black.
Source: devonlive.com
