Bo’ness family landed with £7000 vet bill after puppy is impaled on stick playing a game of fetch

A two-year-old black Labrador, called Tiwha, impaled herself during an evening game of fetch with her owners on Sunday, September 26.

Let us know what you think and join the conversation at the bottom of this article.

The stick stabbed a 3cm hole through the dog’s esophagus causing terrified Tiwha to howl in agonising pain.

Recognising something must be seriously wrong, Tiwha’s owners Katie and Peter Nicholson, rushed their pet to their local veterinary surgery who referred her to the Royal Dick Veterinary Hospital in Edinburgh for specialist care.

Tiwha is a two-year-old black labrador facing an uncertain future.

The gash has now been stitched but has a serious infection has started to spread and the dog requires specialist surgery as soon as possible.

She is currently being fed through a tube while she waits for the operation.

Speaking to the Evening News about the horrifying accident Mr Nicholson said: “It started as a normal game of fetch, she is such a fun-loving cheery dog, I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen.

“All of a sudden I heard a loud yelp, I ran to her as fast as I could, she was hobbling and struggling.

“She had fallen down mouth-first on the stick and it was stuck in her throat. I removed the stick immediately as she seemed to be struggling to breathe.”

Veterinarians initially thought the damage was only cosmetic but further investigation revealed the full extent of the trauma.

“We took her to our vet, she thought she had popped a small hole in her soft palate,” said Mr Nicholson.

“They then realised it was much more serious and after scans at the Royal Dick Vetinary Hospital it turned out Tiwha had torn a 3cm gash in her esophagus.

“This has been stitched and her wound drained and due to the extent of her injuries, she will feed from a tube for at least the next 10 days.

“It will be a long road but we hope she will recover and get back to who she was.

A local animal charity has helped the family launch a Go Fund Me page dedicated to raising cash for Tiwha’s medical treatment.

Mr Nicholson said the family will struggle to afford Tiwha’s medical bills but added: “the alternative does not bear thinking about.”

To donate CLICK HERE.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.