’Miracle after miracle’ as dog skewered like a kebab on a 33in stick makes full recovery

’Miracle after miracle’ as dog skewered like a kebab on a 33in stick makes full recovery

Mangalore Today News Network

Mar 15, 2017: A dog who was skewered like a kebab on a 33in long stick has made a miracle recovery.

Mya was chasing a rabbit through woodland when she ran straight into a fallen branch.

The stick entered through her shoulder and went the length of her body before exiting at her thigh.

 

Owner Lee Humphreys, 56, snapped off the branch before rushing to vets, who gave Mya just a five per cent chance of survival.

The six-year-old lurcher underwent four months of treatment at a cost of £17,000 but has now made a full recovery.

Lee said: "When I first found Mya lying on the ground I couldn’t really work out what was wrong and then I realised this branch was sticking out of her chest.

"I knew I needed to snap it to free her but I’m not sure how I had the strength to do it because it was an inch thick.

"At that point I had no idea how deep it went. I just felt sick, it was so horrific and she was in great distress."

Snow and Rock worker Lee and her husband Reece, 57, had pet insurance but this only covered part of the treatment.

She added: "She’s a very expensive dog. We were insured for £5,000 but that ran out four days after she was admitted.

 

"Her total bill was £17,000. We had to pay about £7,000 from our own pocket. But she’s worth it, we love her very much."

Lee was walking Mya in woods near her home when the freak accident happened in October last year.

It took eight people - Lee, three friends, the vet, a nurse and two tree surgeons - to carry the 75lbs dog to the vet’s van on a stretcher.

When staff at the Medivet surgery took an X-ray they found the stick had perforated the dog’s spleen, diaphragm and liver.

Mya had to undergo a five-hour operation and was given round-the-clock care for the next two days. Lee and engineer Reece, who live near Woking, Surrey, were told to come and say goodbye because she was bleeding so much. But against the odds Mya pulled through and three days later she was back on her feet again.

Lee said: "It was such a relief when she stood up and wagged her tail.

"She is now a healthy dog again. She loves running around chasing after things again so it doesn’t seem to have put her off."

Laura Pons, head vet at Medivet of West Byfleet, added: "It was a real rollercoaster for the owners.

"She was a really powerful dog and she was fighting so hard, that’s what made us continue with the treatment.

"We had to get plasma sent from Scotland for transfusions. But she just seemed to have miracle after miracle. I was amazed she survived the surgery.

"I have dealt with a couple cases of impalement before but never anything like this."