Two-foot branch removed from whippet’s leg 

A whippet puppy has escaped death thanks to vets and nurses who removed a 2ft branch that had become lodged in its hind leg.

Roxy was brought into the Vets Now emergency clinic in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, after the inch-and-a-quarter-diameter branch became lodged, narrowly missing a major artery in her right hind leg and resting on her sciatic nerve.

Impaled

Vets at the clinic were told how Roxy’s owners were walking her in a nearby woods when she somehow managed to land on the branch that impaled her.

Senior veterinary nurse at the practice Anna Moran was part of the team who was able to remove the branch from her leg.

Artery

Ms Moran said: “In all my time working with animals I’ve never seen anything quite like this. The branch had penetrated through the quadriceps, very narrowly missing a major artery and had come to rest right up against the sciatic nerve prior to exiting the caudal aspect of the thigh.

“Amazingly, and probably against the odds, our vet Peter was able to remove the stick without doing any harm to Roxy and she was well enough to walk the next morning.

“Roxy’s owners thought they were going to lose her, but her case shows that even in the bleakest of situations there’s always cause for hope if you act quickly.”

Recovery

Vets and vet nurses were able to gently remove the stick without snapping it, before proceeding to clean bark from the entry and exit wounds.

Roxy was transferred to her usual vet the following morning before being sent home where she would go on to make a complete recovery.