A springer spaniel was skewered like a kebab when a freak accident saw him impale himself on a two-foot stick during a game of fetch. Ollie was out walking in woodland with owners John and Jan Hall when he tore after a stick John threw for him.
The couple believe the stick landed with its point into the ground and Ollie ran onto it and snapped it in half, with one piece puncturing his throat and skewering him up to his shoulder blades. When the pair heard the eight-year-old shriek they raced over, horrified to see the foot-long branch wedging his mouth open.
B&B and self-catering accommodation owner Jan tried to scoop the stick out of Ollie's mouth for a few seconds but quickly realised the severity of his injuries and immediately called the vets. The couple, who regularly walk him on their three acres of woodland, rushed him to the vets and prayed over him before he was rushed into surgery.
Ollie underwent a gruelling two-hour op where surgeons successfully removed the 12-inch obstruction from under his tongue. The dog was left with a gaping hole in his throat, but miraculously it didn't puncture any organs or major blood vessels.
After an overnight stay Ollie was allowed home to recover and is now banned from playing with sticks - though it doesn't stop the cheeky pooch trying.
Three months on from his ordeal in February, 63-year-old Jan is urging dog owners not to throw sticks for their dogs and instead use balls. Jan said: "My husband was playing with him in our woodlands, I was walking on a different path. I became aware that Ollie was in distress, I think he must have shrieked, and we both rushed over to him.
"It was a long stick and it was wedging his mouth open. I only tried to take the stick out for a few seconds and it wasn't shifting so we took him to the vets. We think John threw a stick, it landed with the point into the ground. Ollie was chasing it full pelt and ran onto it and snapped it in half.
"A foot was left in the ground and a foot was inside him. We took him to the vets and basically said goodbye. We didn't know if he would survive it or not because it was so long - it stopped by his shoulder blade."
After the freak accident on February 13th, Ollie managed to walk the short distance from the woodland before being gently lifted him into the car and rushed to Old Hall Veterinary Centre in Appleby, Cumbria. There, a team was ready and waiting to take him into surgery straight away.
The gran-of-two said: "Before the surgeon took him away we prayed for Ollie. It was wonderful when we got the call from the vets saying he was fine, we thanked God of course. We say Ollie's blessed and God's looking after him.
"It missed all his vital organs and nerves, muscles, blood supply and everything. He came home the following morning."
Ollie had a drain in his chest following the op and was given painkillers and antibiotics to prevent infection setting in. In just two weeks the plucky pooch was healed, but Jan says as it went through muscles and tendons he's still a little sore.
Now Jan and her 61-year-old husband refuse to throw sticks for Ollie to chase after, but it doesn't stop him from being interested in them. Jan said: "We're avoiding sticks completely, but he's not.
"We met some walkers [recently] and he picked a stick up and took it to each of them in turn. One did throw it, I nearly screamed at him. We've always got a ball with us now."
Jan is now urging other dog walkers to avoid throwing sticks for their dogs so they avoid the same fate. Jan said: "My advice to other owners is definitely avoid sticks. They come in so many different shapes and sizes - even a chihuahua can swallow one.
"There are various other toys you can get. Any stick that gets picked up is totally ignored [and] possibly taken off Ollie - something else is thrown to distract him while you dispose of the stick."
Sharing Ollie's ordeal on their Facebook page, Old Hall Veterinary Centre, wrote: "Whilst throwing sticks for your dog can appear like a great form of play, the dangers are all too well known by veterinary surgeons.
"Sticks can get impaled into a dog’s throat, and whilst this may just cause minor wounds, some dogs will suffer life-threatening injuries such as lacerations of the vital structures within the neck as well as multi-resistant bacterial infections."
