Chihuahua pup Smokey survived after a barbecue fork flew through the air at a garden party and became impaled in his head.
Yelping in agony it then ran off into nearby woods and hid for two days before worried owner Hughie Wagers found him in the undergrowth and took him to the vets.
Nurse Michelle Duncum, who was was on duty at the Cumberland Valley Animal Hospital, in London, Kentucky, when Smokey’s distraught owner arrived, said they were shocked by what they saw.
She said: ‘At first we thought it must just be a little fork you use to eat or something and didn’t have any idea what we were in for.
‘Then Hughie told us to wait there and he went and got Smokey, when he brought him in we couldn’t believe our eyes.’
Vet Keaton Smith, 40, immediately rushed the pup into the operating theatre and set to work.
He said: ‘When we got the x-ray up it was clear that this fork was not in the skull cavity, or behind the eye, it was in the brain.
‘Smokey had been out in the woods for two days with this in his head and we really didn’t know what would happen when we pulled it out, it was 50/50 if he would make it.
‘The operation didn’t really take any time at all, I just shaved his head and then pulled it out, it was all over in 30 seconds.’
Smokey has since made a virtual full recovery although Dr Keaton said he still has some slowness in movement in his right eye.
He said: ‘His nerve endings around the eye still seem to be a little slow but I think that will heal over time, he really is a little miracle.’
July 15th, 2009 at 11:53 am
Curious, I didn’t know a flying fork could have enough power to pierce bone… perhaps this is not the whole story?
July 15th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
That is incredible. Disturbing, and heartwarming. Wow.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Meeko, That’s exactly what I was thinking. Do chihuahua pups have really soft heads?
July 16th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
Yeah what’s sad is that the Vet made them agree to allow them to release the story to the press before doing the surgery, otherwise the family couldn’t afford it and they would had turned the poor guy away.
July 16th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
All Chihuahua’s have a soft spot in their skull. It looks like the fork managed to go right through this little guy’s!
July 17th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I was prepared to do human harm if this had been told differently. I still think something is awry. Why would an owner not go after the dog in the woods and then take him to the vet. If he went yelping into the woods he would not have been that hard to find. I could not sleep if this happened to our dog. I’d be looking until I found it.
July 17th, 2009 at 10:56 pm
Someone got fed up with the yapping I presume.
July 19th, 2009 at 9:13 pm
@Meeko Try dropping one in your foot from a little more than counter height and let us know the results.
Actually, the part your seeing is just the fork and the tang. The handle was obviously removed so there wouldn’t be as much weight hanging on the puncture wound. Most grilling forks are quite heavy. This one probably has a long wooden handle, as most do. So, there could have been plenty of force behind the fork tines to go through a skull.
July 19th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Actually, the part your seeing is just the fork and the tang. The handle was obviously removed so there wouldn’t be as much weight hanging on the puncture wound. Most grilling forks are quite heavy. This one probably has a long wooden handle, as most do. So, there could have been plenty of force behind the fork tines to go through a skull.