Dog needs emergency treatment after impaling eye socket on a tree

Shocking photos show the damage caused by 6cm tree branch

Labrador retriever Elsie had a miracle escape after impaling herself on a tree branch.

Owner James Creedy found the seven-year-old hanging by her eyelid with the branch wedged into her eye socket.

Incredibly, though, it hadn’t pierced her eyeball and James’s careful rescue attempt and the skill of our emergency team in Caterham saved the beloved family pet’s sight.

The awful accident happened just before Christmas when Elsie slipped out into the back garden of the family home in Croydon.

Our photos of her wounds show just how close she came to losing her eye.

“She got out for a matter of minutes without me realising,” said IT consultant James, 30.

“But as we have fences and reckoned the garden was pretty dog-proof, I wouldn’t have been too bothered anyway.

“I had gone upstairs for something when I heard this howling noise. It was like nothing I had ever heard Elsie make, so I thought it was foxes as we get them around here a lot.

“It sounded like an animal in distress, so I went to see what was wrong and was horrified to see that it was Elsie.

“She must have seen something, jumped at it and got caught on the branch of this old strawberry tree at the end of the garden.

“She was suspended in such a way that she couldn’t get her front paws down and was hanging by her eyelid.

“It was an absolutely horrific sight, just really traumatic. I was looking at this gory eye and thought she was sure to lose it.”

Quick-thinking James got one leg under Elsie to take her weight while trying to reach into the garden shed to get something to cut her free.

He could only lay hands on heavy-duty loppers, which he knew would do damage.

Fortunately, a neighbour had also been alerted by the howling and her husband ran to get smaller clippers.

“There was only millimetres of a gap between the branch and the trunk of the tree and I was trying to angle the clippers so I didn’t do any more damage,” explained James.

“As soon as I cut her free, she ran back into the house. There was this three-inch section of tree branch stuck in her eyelid.

“When I pulled it in one direction it was stuck fast, but luckily when I pulled it the other way it just came out.”

James tried to clean the gaping wound with warm water before calling Vets Now.

He was told to bring Elsie straight into our Caterham clinic, one of a network of clinics and hospitals open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Vet nurse Rochinne Butler, who was on duty, said: “It’s a real miracle that Elsie’s eyeball was fine, considering the branch had entered her eye socket and come out above her eyelid.

“In an emergency like this, when a dog’s sight is at risk, every minute counts, and Mr Creedy did the right thing by rushing Elsie in during the night.

“After thoroughly checking her eye for damage and prescribing pain medication, we were able to clean and staple up her wound. She was a really brave girl throughout her ordeal.”

Elsie was allowed home in the early hours of the morning and although the swelling eventually reached golf ball size, the treatment proved successful and she is now happily on the mend.

“It all looks good at the moment and we’re just praying the eyelid continues to heal so she doesn’t risk losing the eye,” said James, who quickly cut down the tree to ensure there was no possible repeat of the awful accident.

“The swelling has gone down massively and she’s had the staples removed.

“The Vets Now staff were amazing, so skilful and calm and reassuring when I was obviously panicking. It’s a fantastic service.”