Dog owner issues plea after pet injured at Holywood
A DISTRAUGHT Holywood dog owner has issued a plea to beach visitors to take home their rubbish after his beloved pet sustained a nasty injury on broken glass.
Bailey, the soon to be two year-old Jackapoo, was enjoying a stroll along Holywood seafront with his owners David and Frances Rossiter when he sustained a nasty laceration on the side of his paw as he entered the water.
After seeking treatment at their local vets, the couple were told Bailey, the poodle and Jack Russell cross, had been ‘lucky’ as the broken glass had cut him very close to a main artery.
Bailey’s dedicated owner David has now issued a plea to beauty spot visitors to take their rubbish home with them and prevent further accidents from happening to both pets and children.
Said David: “A dog is one thing but I would definitely be worried if I had a child and if you were taking their shoes off and going into the water. If they trod on some glass it could be really dangerous. We would ask people to make sure they are not leaving their litter behind them.”
Recalling the moment Bailey was injured, David said: “We were out for a walk with Bailey by Holywood seafront and we usually let him roam around. He went in just to the edge of the water and when he came out he was covered in blood, his left paw was just pumping blood.
“It was a bit of a shock and there was a big gash. It wasn’t on his paw pad but the laceration was on the side. He had just gone into the water and maybe he didn’t see the glass.”
Fortunately the bleeding stopped after Bailey’s owners got him home and bandaged, but they later took him to the vet to be checked out. “The vet said he was lucky with the gash as it was close to one of his arteries,” said David. “He has to wear a cone for 10 days and there are no long walks, but he is thankfully on the mend.”
David confessed they would be hesitant about letting Bailey free to roam again on the beach areas after his nasty experience. “I think if we do go back down to Holywood seafront I don’t think we will let him walk on the sand, there are just too many things lurking in the sand. We are happy enough to let him walk on the coastal path.”
