A canine blood donor is back to saving lives just weeks after being impaled on a three-foot stick.
Crossbreed Murphy was lucky to survive the freak accident, which happened while his owners were on holiday in Perthshire in February.
Owner Louise Playford was walking the three-year-old dog at the Hermitage, near Dunkeld, with her husband Mark when a terrified Murphy ran past with a stick protruding from his side.
More than a mile from their car, they were forced to call in fire crews to cut the stick down to a more manageable size before it could be removed by a vet.
Louise, who lives in Dunfermline, said Murphy was lucky to survive the incident, which has cost her £800 in vet’s fees.
The 39-year-old Fife Council worker said: “We’d been away for a couple of days in Grandtully and were on our way back when we stopped at the Hermitage for a walk.
“He’d been running and playing in the woods and we think he’s caught the stick with his front paws which has caused it to go up in the air and the force of him running had managed to drive the stick right through him it was a real freak accident.
“He came running past my husband, howling in pain, and we had to tackle him to the floor and keep him calm until we could figure out what to do.
“We phoned a number of local vets and ended up getting the number for Tay Valley Vets because they operate an emergency service and were able to come out to us in the middle of the forest.
“The vet said he’d never seen anything like this he couldn’t get his head round it. A fraction of an inch over and the stick would have been through an artery and there’s no way he would have survived.
“He’s absolutely back to normal and running around we just don’t give him sticks any more.”
Louise also thanked walkers and a cyclist who stopped to offer help at the scene.
“The people who stopped and helped were amazing,” she said. “I never got their details to thank them but I am very grateful.”
Murphy had to wait several weeks before he could donate again and finally did so last week.
Louise said: “He’s been a blood donor for about two years. It’s something he has done from as soon as he was able.
“Any dog can be a blood donor, as long as they are over 25kg and under 10 years old.”