Barbaric snare rips a spaniel’s chest open
Injuries worst vet has seen
A young dog had its chest ripped open after being caught in a suspected deer trap while out for a walk.
Evan Welsh was out with his 18-monthold Sprocker Spaniel, Evie, behind Ravenscraig Regional Sports Facility, when the horrific incident happened.
Now he has shared images of his pet’s injury in a bid to warn other dog walkers who use the area.
The 46-year-old said: “The vets said it was the most horrific injury they had seen.
“She is such a lucky dog as it could have killed her.”
Evie suffered horrific injuries stepping on a suspected deer trap.
He continued: “I was walking my two dogs, Evie a rescue Sprocker and my older dog, in the area behind the sports centre.
“The dogs were off their leads and Evie, being a young dog, was just out running off all that energy that she has just now.
“She wasn’t too far away when she came back to me, almost crawling over.
“I looked down and noticed a lot of blood over her legs. At first I thought she must have cut her leg on something.
“Her head was down, and when I looked closer her chest was hanging open. It was horrific.
“I quickly wrapped my jacket around her and ran back to the car and took her to Brannock Vets, who were fantastic.
“The vets were just about to shut but they after stayed open to operate on her. It took them two-and-a-half hours for her operation as the wound was so deep it had cut through, skin, fat and muscle.”
Evan took to Facebook to share an image of Evie, to highlight what had happened.
The Carfin man wrote: “Just thought I would share this as a warning to all owners.
“The picture below is of my 18-monthold Sprocker who got ripped open from breast to stomach (12 inch long gash she is only about 30 inches long in total) while out walking in Ravenscraig.
“I don’t know for sure what she did it on, but since been told that some sick individuals have been laying pipe snares to catch deer.
“This was down behind the Regional Sports Centre, a popular area for dog walkers. She has been a lucky girl and after two, two-hour operations a load of drugs and the help of Brannock Vets (who have been nothing short of fantastic) and a lot of sleepless nights staying in the conservatory with her, she is going to make a full recovery. Please be careful, folks.”
Elaine Shaw, senior vet at Brannock Vet Clinic, said: “The injury is one of the worst that I have seen, extending way beyond the large skin wound that can be seen externally.
“All of the team at Brannock are just delighted to see Evie making excellent progress, though it will be some time yet before all of her internal wounds have healed completely.”
Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said: “We are aware of a number of incidents of non-target species being caught in snares recently including badgers, deer and domestic animals such as cats and dogs.
“These incidents highlight how completely indiscriminate snares are. While snaring continues, suffering will continue and that is why we are in favour of an outright ban on the use of snares in Scotland.
“If anyone does find a snare, we ask that you leave it untouched and to contact our animal helpline on 03000 999 999 if you believe it to have been set illegally.”