By Callum Ludwig
A family gathering in Seville became frantic on Sunday 5 March when a game of fetch went wrong.
Healesville resident Will Johnson had picked up and thrown a stick for his Blue Heeler cross Labrador Mia near the Seville Water Play Park to fetch when tragedy struck.
Mr Johnson said the stick flew through their air like a footy and staked into the ground.
“Mia was right behind it and couldn’t stop in time and impaled herself on it. I heard her yelp and ran over there and there was just blood coming out like a hose, her heart was going flat out and my first thought was that it hit an artery,” he said.
“Then you think what do I do now, if it’s a person you know to call an ambulance, but when it’s your pup sitting there you panic and don’t know.”
Mr Johnson and his family got Mia back to their car, applying pressure and calling the Wandin Veterinary Clinic as they raced there. Julie Cureton from the Wandin Vet was out for lunch in Montrose but responded to the emergency, arriving only five minutes after Mr Thompson and his family.
Mr Thompson said by the time Mia was on the operating table, she was in bad shape.
“You could just tell by the colour of her, she didn’t look good at all. We found out after from my partner Rose’s mum that Julie didn’t actually think she was going to be able to stop the bleeding, Rose’s mum is a nurse and neither of them was confident,” he said.
“After about half an hour, she found it and stitch it up and raced to the 24 hour emergency vet in Mount Waverley, she was really unstable by the time she got there.”
Six vets were waiting on arrival for Mia, quickly taking her in for blood transfusions to save her life. For a 30kg Blue Heeler, they have about three litres of blood and she had lost at least a litre. Each transfusion is 300ml, and Mr Johnson was called in the middle of the night to grant permission for another one as Mia’s life continued to hang in the balance.
Mr Johnson said they then had to take Mia to Dandenong, and she was stable by 12.30pm on Monday.
“It was so scary up to that point, we didn’t know if she’d make it or not. We were incredibly relieved, she comes everywhere with us, she’s a member of the family,” he said.
“We are so thankful to Julie, it just blows you away how good they are under pressure. She’s got four people around her with a family member just withering away, she definitely kept the show on the road.”
Mia is back home, happy and walking already, while she heals.
Julie Cureton was contacted for comment.
