On Saturday 24th March while out walking our two dogs, Milo and Frankie, along the dramway in Warmley, Bristol, they boys wandered into the next field. We assumed they had run away so went looking. All the time we were calling them, Milo must have been trapped. Thanks to a local lad and our neighbours, the dogs found their way home and were kept there until we arrived. Milo’s back paw was so badly injured that his bones were visible and one of his tendons was hanging and he couldn‘t put his foot to the floor. Upon speaking to the vet the thought was that his foot had been caught in a trap. We, naively, thought he‘d been caught in brambles.

We were told we could have his leg amputated for £3,000; but his leg can be saved. What a decision to have to make... we couldn‘t do that to him. So we have decided to go ahead with saving his leg.

To make Milo well again is going to cost around £7,000, he has aready been hospitalised for nearly a week, and we foolishly, had never got round to insuring him. The treatment is going to take months, involving skin grafting new skin, as his old skin is dying due to the damage, and either carrying out a hock fusion, which will involve screws and plates being put into his leg to make it stable or for a frame to be put through it and onto the outside of his leg to help the bones heal. (I’m no vet but this is the gist). At the moment the staff at the vets hospital are cleaning the wound daily while he is sedated but tissue is still coming away so it is not safe to operate and this could take some time, all the while Milo is in hospital so the costs are adding up.

We are well aware that we should have insured our dog, but never did we imagine that someone would have been so cruel to lay a trap in a well known dog walking spot.

Thanks for reading.