A Lanarkshire couple has told of their terror after their Border Collie puppy had 'blood pouring out of her mouth' just hours after swallowing shards of glass.
William Murphy and Sid Duff now want people to be aware of the damage littering and vandalism can cause for innocent animals.
The couple, who stay in Rutherglen, were walking their four-month-old puppy Susan when she swallowed a small shard of glass. Within hours, the pup was coughing up blood and vomiting to the extent that vets discussed putting her down.
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Luckily Susan pulled through, but her shaken owners are now hoping to try and tidy their area after the incident, which happened where Greenhill Road meets Stonelaw Road, reports Lanarkshire Live.
William told Lanarkshire Live: "We'd been out the previous night with Susan and there were wee bits of glass on the street that she was near, but Sid thought he'd taken her away before she's gotten close to them.
"Overnight she started making horrendous noises and it looked like she was having a seizure. There was literally blood pouring out of her mouth at that point - I panicked about it and called the vet.
"On the way there she actually stopped breathing and went completely limp. I know it sounds silly but all I could think of was to give her mouth to mouth and hope it helped her, and she managed to perk up.
"However in the vet she started being sick and when they did the x-rays they found little shards of glass in her abdomen. The wee shards were slicing her open when she was being sick, so she was into the emergency hospital and put on intensive care."
It was at that point that William and Sid were told to consider putting the young pup down.
William added: "I went in to see her and she stood up, wagged her tail and licked the window. At that point I burst into tears and said I wanted to give her more time as I thought she would keep fighting it. Slowly she got better over the whole weekend and we were so grateful. I was an emotional wreck seeing her like that."
Now William wants others to know the harm that thoughtless vandalism and littering can cause. He and Sid have also set up a GoFundMe for donations to the the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals charity, as a thank-you for how they treated their beloved pet.
William said: "I'm not naive enough to think we'll stop people littering but it might make people think. There's bins everywhere now.
"I get people can be careless, but when you see a wee innocent animal hurt it's heartbreaking, and you want people to realise what harm it can cause."
Kevin Carr, Head of Facilities, Waste and Grounds Services at South Lanarkshire Council, said: “We are glad to hear that the couple’s dog has now recovered.
"This issue highlights that not only is dropping litter an offence but it can have serious consequences not only for the environment but can have more serious repercussions.
"Anyone dropping litter can receive an on-the-spot fine of £80 from our Community Wardens, which if not paid could lead to a £2500 fine in court.
"We also urge anyone to report littering by contacting our Anti-Social behaviour team.”
For more information on the Council's anti-littering policies visit here, while the GoFundMe for the PDSA can be found here.
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