When we go out of town and leave our dog in someone else’s care, that can be cause for concern. Will they be okay without me? Will they remember the instructions I left? Many of these questions begin to circulate around in our minds. There are countless dog owners who feel more comfortable leaving their dogs at home while others go check on them, as was the case with Espen when his humans were away.
When his sitter came over to let him go outdoors for one of his routine breaks, he wandered off deep into the yard, when suddenly she heard a scream. Rushing to see what was the matter, the sitter could not believe her eyes: the dog had accidentally impaled himself with a 63-inch piece of rebar, straight through his chest and out through his abdomen and was standing there unmoving.
The five-year-old Yellow Labrador was rushed into the Hope Advanced Veterinary Care Facility in Rockville, Maryland, where veterinary personnel immediately went to work hoping to save this poor dog’s life.
“There was certainly concern he might not make it,” the care facility’s rep, Brian Wilson told ABC News. “Any time you have a penetrating wound like that, you never really know what it could have possibly hit or cut inside. He was very lucky that it missed his heart and vital blood vessels.”
via According to Espen’s x-ray, the rod punctured his lung and diaphragm, and also nicked his liver.
via Hope Advanced Veterinary Care on Facebook
The night he came in the veterinary surgeons, Dr. John Kiefer and Dr. Julia Hawthorne, successfully removed the rebar, and veterinarians Dr. Scott Moore Dr. Cady Johnston took over for the post-surgery recovery. All of the veterinarians and those involved did their very best to ensure that “Espen was as comfortable as possible” during the difficult process.
via Hope Advanced Veterinary Care on Facebook
It wasn’t until Thursday night that Espen was reunited with his family, who were truly grateful that their beloved family dog had survived such a horrific incident:
“I just started crying because all he’s been through and everything,” his owner Delia Muscarella, 16, told ABC affiliate WJLA. “Knowing that he’s made it, it’s a miracle to me.”
Delia’s mother, Stacey Muscarella, also said that the experience was “terrifying” for them, since they weren’t in town at the time of the incident. And strangely, no one knows where this large rod came from.
“The way it looks to us, is he was running,” and he may have accidentally injured himself, Stacey Muscarella said. “We don’t know, we really don’t know. And nobody will know, because nobody saw it.”
Stacey and her mother are happy that Espen is home safe, and have even started calling him the “Miracle Dog” after all that he’s been through. The best part is that Espen is expected to make a full recovery, and be the exact same playful dog he was before, with only a few tiny scars and precautionary checkups needed. Sounds like a miracle to me!!
Toledo, United States.