Dog who 'impaled' herself on tree trunk cost owner over £4,000 in vet fees

Golden retriever, Nancy, injured herself after chasing a ball.

A dog who "impaled" herself on a snapped tree trunk cost her owners over £4,000 in vet fees.

Rhys Williams was walking his golden retriever Nancy near his home in Cwmbwrla, Swansea when the accident happened.

After throwing a ball for his five-year-old dog, Nancy decided to jump over a fallen tree which was laid on the ground rather than run around it.

Mr Williams' four-legged friend was caught by a branch sticking out which went into the side of her stomach on October 16.

The 49-year-old saw a "little bit of blood" and added: "Her tail was between her legs and I knew something wasn't right."

Mr Williams has had to pay over £4,000 to help save his dog Nancy.

When he got home, Mr Williams realised that it was a "pretty horrific wound" and took the family pet to the PDSA where they confirmed a 32cm tear right under her stomach and along her hind quarters, which needed operating on immediately.

The initial vet bills cost £3,000 with another two operations costing around £500 each. Medication is also around £250 with Mr Williams explaining he had to charge all the vet bills to a credit card in the hope of claiming it back on insurance.

Mr Williams is worried there will be further complications with her wounds, not only because he is concerned about his canine companion but also because he will exceed his limit on vet fees that can be claimed back.

"I never thought we'd get to this point but some people have suggested I start a GoFundMe page, I'm seriously considering doing that if I have to keep paying out. There's not much money to spare at the moment and I can't keep forking out £500 every other week."

The tree trunk has since been removed by the council.

Asked how Nancy is doing now, Mr Williams said: "Her tail is still wagging, she's still looking for lots of attention and she's very needy! She's been incredibly brave."

He added that the tree which had caused the tear fell in a storm around a year ago.

After the incident, Mr Williams contacted Cwmbwrla councillor Peter Black CBE, who arranged for the tree to be removed by the council.

"I had the tree removed as soon as I could and asked for the stump to be cut down. It was a terrible accident," said Cllr Black.