A five-year-old cocker spaniel had his life saved by a Glasgow vet after a stick thrown during a game got lodged dangerously between his mouth and stomach.
After a desperate 110-mile dash from Fort William to Glasgow, Brodie miraculously survived thanks to the skills of the team at the Vets Now pet emergency hospital.
Owner Jennifer MacDonald is now backing Vets Now’s ‘Ditch The Stick’ Campaign, launched in response to the worrying number of dogs needing emergency treatment after stick accidents.
Brodie was out for a walk with Jennifer’s husband Allan near their family home in Mallaig when the drama unfolded.
“Allan was working from home and took Brodie out by the loch side during his lunchbreak,” said Jennifer. “He threw a stick and it stuck into the ground, pointing upwards. Brodie jumped straight on to it and it lodged in his throat.
“Allan was quite a way from his car, so he phoned me, and I drove straight there. Brodie was lying on his side like he was paralysed, with this stick poking out of his mouth. We were both in shock and so scared. We thought we’d lost him.”
The couple rushed him to their own vets in Fort William but they quickly realised that if he was to have any chance of survival, Brodie needed a CT scan and the best hospital facilities.
Jennifer nursed the desperately ill dog on her lap during an agonising near-four-hour drive to the Vets Now Hospital in Glasgow city centre.
It’s one of more than 60 clinics and hospitals across the UK that are open seven days a week for out-of-hours pet emergencies.
“I was trying to stay calm, but it was a horrendous journey,” said Jennifer.
Brodie was rushed in for treatment as Jennifer and Allan waited for news, fearing the worst.
Surgical specialist Ana Marques said: “When Brodie arrived, he was met by our emergency and critical care team who described him as alert but unable to stand. Our intensive care team kept him in overnight, ensured he was kept stable and pain-free in preparation for the CT scan and surgery the next morning.
“Brodie underwent major surgery to remove the stick, which had also damaged his oesophagus. This meant that Brodie wasn’t allowed to eat or drink normally, he had to be fed using a tube to allow the oesophagus the best chance of healing properly.
“Brodie was a model patient, a lovely boy and the whole team enjoyed taking care of him.”
Jennifer and Allan were given the good news after a worrying night in the city and were able to take Brodie home after a week’s intensive care at the hospital.
He is now continuing to recover well at home, but Jennifer is anxious to make sure no other owners go through the same ordeal.
“We’ll never throw a stick again,” said Jennifer. “We usually take a ball to throw anyway and that’s so much safer.
“After all we’ve been through, my advice to anyone thinking of playing with a stick with their dog is: just don’t.
“They can be so dangerous, and you never know what might happen.
“I’m just so grateful to Vets Now. We know Brodie wouldn’t be with us now without everything they did.”
A report from the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in 2018 found that dogs suffer as many injuries playing fetch as they do on Britain’s roads.
Vets Now's ‘Ditch the Stick’ campaign hopes to alert of dog owners to the various dangers that sticks can cause.
