Ross-shire dam plunge dog up for award
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A DOG which survived a horrific plunge down a 60-foot dam in Ross-shire has been shortlisted for a national award.
Darcy, the cocker spaniel, is in the running for the PDSA Pet Survivor Awards 2016, a competition recognising death-defying "tails" of miraculous survival.
Two-year-old Darcy was on a walk with her owners at Glascarnoch Dam, west of Garve, in July when she jumped a five-foot wall and plummeted down the sheer drop on the other side.
Despite sustaining horrific injuries, Darcy went on to make an astounding recovery and is now up against five other plucky pets for the coveted title of PDSA Pet Survivor 2016.
The competition, run in association with PDSA Petsurance, recognises pets’ incredible survival spirit, the love and devotion of their owners and the skill and dedication of the veterinary teams who helped save their lives. The winner will be decided by a public vote via the charity’s website: www.pdsa.org.uk/petsurvivor
Darcy was entered into the competition by her owners, Wendy and Gordon Lyon, from Kellas near Dundee.
Wendy said: "We’ve walked there many times and she’s never done anything like that before. We have no idea why she suddenly decided to jump. We heard her ‘scream’ and then silence; we expected the worst and ran to look over the wall. Incredibly, she survived the fall and was looking up at us. We could see she was badly injured.
"We were absolutely distraught as we couldn’t reach her. It took a while for the fire brigade to arrive as we were in the middle of nowhere. When the fireman Charlie MacRae from Ullapool brought her up, hypothermia was setting in and she was slipping in and out of consciousness, but she still managed to nuzzle his cheek."
However, Darcy’s ordeal was still far from over. She was rushed to the nearest veterinary practice in Conon Bridge for emergency surgery to stop internal bleeding and to remove her damaged spleen.
Despite her critical condition, she survived the night and was transported on a drip to Parkside Veterinary Group in Dundee for intensive care and specialist surgery.
She had a devastating list of injuries – air was leaking into her chest cavity, her liver was damaged, her pelvis was fractured, her front leg was fractured and dislocated, and her back leg and hip joint had a complex, open fracture. It seemed a miracle that she was alive at all.
Orthopaedic Vet Stuart Ashworth said: "At first we were worried we may not be able to save Darcy’s back leg –her femur was shattered into five sections and her hip was also fractured, all complicated by the fact this was an open wound, which increased the risk of infection. But we could see that Darcy was a little dog with immense determination so we knew we had to try everything we could."
Thankfully the vet team were able to save Darcy’s back leg – the ball of her hip joint was removed, and her femur was stabilised with a pin and a plate fixed in place with nine screws. Just 48 hours after the operation she was standing up, wagging her tail and persuading staff to handfeed her favourite meal of fish and potatoes.
Wendy continued: "Nothing keeps Darcy from her food it seems! She stayed at the vets for nine days recovering, but we visited her twice a day and her tail was always wagging. She never once gave up."
Darcy had a further two operations – one to fix her front leg, which had to be fused at the wrist to stabilise it, and another to remove the pin from her back leg once it was sufficiently healed. At home Darcy still required months of nursing and rehabilitation, but nothing was too much trouble for the miracle dog’s family. She received hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and acupuncture, and is now expected to make an incredible recovery.
Wendy added: "Darcy had extraordinary care from her vets. They really went above and beyond for her. The treatment has cost thousands of pounds, but thankfully her insurance has covered a lot of that although we have still had to pay for some parts of her rehab. It’s been an expensive time, but when I see her happy and running again it’s totally worth it."
Vet Stuart added: "Darcy continues to amaze us at every check-up. She’s been a model patient and is an incredibly brave, sweet-natured dog. We’re delighted to have played a part in her recovery process. We’re over the moon that she’s being recognised in PDSA’s Pet Survivor Awards."
Entries for the charity awards were received from all over the UK and a celebrity judging panel, which included actress Pam St Clement, helped to select the finalists.
To vote for Darcy go to: www.pdsa.org.uk/petsurvivor
Only one vote per person is allowed and voting closes at midnight on Sunday December 4.
