Injured puppy gets a dirty needle stuck in her paw after Bristol walk
A puppy was left injured and limping after a needle got stuck in her paw during a walk in Bristol.
Mailee, a one-year-old Shitzu Cross Bichon, was being walked near ‘The Streams’ in Southmead on Sunday 16 May when her owners say she stood on a used hypodermic needle.
Her owner, Chan Detain, said she heard Mailee make a noise and immediately rushed over to the puppy with her mum Emma.
Chan said: "Mum went over to see what was wrong, and just looked around and said 'oh dear' and pulled a dirty used needle out of my little dog’s paw.
"These are everywhere in the fields at the moment and it’s limiting where we can walk the dogs."
She also said the grass there "barely gets cut" which makes it hard to check the ground for needles before letting dogs off the lead.
The pair were walking on the fields near the stream by Shetland Road with their two dogs, Mailee and Bull Mastiff Laika, and the area was notorious for its used needles being littered.
The 24-year-old added: "About a month ago I was with my bigger dog and came across a bunch of used needles and drug packets at the Doncaster Road end of the streams, so I hurried out of there.
"Since I have stuck to the Shetland Road end stream."
Chan returned home and called the vets who advised her to monitor Mailee’s behavior to check for a temperature which would indicate an infection.
She has had to clean the paw with hot salt water and also resorted to washing it with Dettol.
Chan said: "I just wanted people to be aware. Do not walk your dogs through The Streams, at least not until they have cut the grass. It’s too dangerous for our babies."
When contacted for comment, Bristol City Council said it had not received any reports of needles in the area.
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