A lucky dog has cheated death for a second time after his leg became IMPALED on an iron gate post.
Frank the Jack Russell tried to squeeze under an old railway line fence but got into difficulty when a rusty bar speared his muscle, narrowly missing his arteries.
His worried owners began searching the local area after their beloved pet failed to return home at around teatime on Wednesday (29/9).
Owners Linda and Alan Sanderson-Keeling combed the area, enlisting the help of neighbours, before they stumbled across him stuck in the fence behind a garden.
Unable to free Frank themselves, Linda and Alan alerted firefighters in the hope of freeing their terrified pooch.
The quivering dog was then cut free and he was given oxygen after he got trapped near his home in Tunstall, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.
Frank was rushed to Charter Veterinary Surgeons, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs., where vet Hayley Brobyn operated on him.
She worked round the clock to remove the bar, clean out the debris to prevent infection and help save his life.
Despite his near-death injury, Frank has made a full recovery and is back with his relieved owners.
Linda, 67, said: “It was lovely to have him home in one piece. There’s no limping, just a scar. All the fur has grown back and there’s just a line now where he was operated on.
“He never made a peep. He was just sitting there in absolute shock.
“When I broke the fence away, I saw the spoke had gone right though his leg.
“He’s never wandered off before. I was very distraught. But when push comes to shove, you just go into automatic pilot.”
Vet Hayley, 26, added: “He was in quite a lot of shock, so I bandaged the iron rod because it was unstable and was weighing him down. It probably weighed half as much as Frank.
“Although his leg looked traumatic, it was the shock that potentially could have killed him, rather than the iron bar. Once we’d stabilised him for shock, we prepared him for surgery.
“He was completely out of it, with the anaesthetic, and we didn’t know whether he would have the full use of his leg.
“It’s been fantastic to see Frank make such a quick recovery.”
But the near-miss wasn’t the first time Frank had found himself on the operating table.
Eight years ago Frank was hit by a car before being nursed back to full health.
Linda, a retired hair salon owner, said: “He has the funniest jaw and his teeth stick out so you wouldn’t call him the most handsome dog but he’s as gentle as a lamb.
“There are children next door and he loves them.
“My husband is disabled and in a wheelchair and he sits on the chair lift with him.
“He’s been through a lot in his life – I’m just hoping there’s not a third drama.”
