X-rays taken at 608 Vet Practice in Solihull clearly show the hook jammed in Paddy’s power jaw with the lengthy pole protruding from his mouth.
Poor Paddy Saved From Hook Horror By 608 Vets
2 months ago 
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A West Midlands dog lover has described the horror of discovering her three-month-old puppy screaming in agony with a metal pole and hook jammed in his jaw.
Shocked Mandi Pountney, from Solihull, revealed the pole was so long her partner had to cut two-feet off the end just to be able to fit the family pet into the car to get him to the vets.
The young Staffordshire bull terrier, called Paddy, was admitted as an emergency out-of-hours case at Linnaeus-owned 608 Vet Practice in Solihull, with Mandi, whose previous dog had died only seven weeks earlier, admitting she feared the worst.
She recalled: “I was upstairs and suddenly heard Paddy screaming in the garden, so I ran down expecting him to be trapped or something.
“However, he was running around with the metal pole in his mouth. I managed to get hold of him and discovered it was lodged firmly in his mouth.
“I immediately called my partner and he came home and had to cut it down so we could get Paddy into the car and to the vets.
“We were all so shocked when we saw the X-ray, it was horrific for him and major guilt for us.
“We were very concerned as he was so young and had suffered such an awful injury. We didn’t think he would get through the surgery. We were so worried, especially as we had lost our other dog only seven weeks before Paddy’s accident.”
Vet Silvia Ruiz is part of the emergency out-of-hours team at 608 Vet Prcatice and took charge of the challenging case.
Silvia explained: “We immediately carried out X-rays which showed the pole had a large hook on the end which had become jammed under the puppy’s lower jaw.
“Incredibly, there was no bleeding from the wound but it was clear that, due to the nature of the injury, we could not extract the pole with Paddy still conscious.
“This would have been extremely dangerous and caused him too much stress and trauma.
“Instead, we had to remove the pole surgically with Paddy safely under a general anaesthetic. This type of surgery was particularly difficult in this case due to his young age and smaller size.
“The whole procedure took an hour-and-a-half. First, a vertical incision was made on his neck, where the hook was located, allowing us access to it.
“We then succeeded in slowly and carefully removing the pole while ensuring there was no major collateral damage to the soft tissue in the area.
“Once again there was hardly any bleeding during or after removal, which was remarkable.
“Once the pole was removed, we carefully examined the affected area for any further damage.
“With the hook being unsterile we were also concerned about possible infection, so the whole area – from the surgical incision and down through the mouth – was flushed out thoroughly.
“This helped remove lots of small metal and plastic particles from the track and soft tissue with any remaining particles subsequently removed taking care, precision and good time.
“All went well and Paddy recovered very positively. He’s since had two post-operative checks and all is well.”
Mandi confirmed: “Paddy is absolutely fine now and was running around again the day after surgery as if nothing had happened.
“The vets were amazing and we cannot express our gratitude enough to the team at 608 Vets.
“They saved his life and really supported us as a family 100 per cent. They all love Paddy, he is like a celebrity when we go in now!”
Mandi also divulged the mystery behind the metal pole and hook, adding: "It was a garden ornament, a ladybird on a metal stake.
“Paddy kept chewing it, so we had removed it and put it out of reach on a table.
“Unfortunately, we hadn’t realised a family member had put it back in the ground in the garden.”
To find out more about 608 Vet Practice, visit www.608vets.com or search for 608 Vets on social media.
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