A woman’s beloved dog has been left with a “rare” injury after he managed to escape from her home and was run over – twice. Theresa McColl is now facing a hefty vet bill which she cannot afford to pay herself as she has already used up the limit on her pet insurance.
Theresa told CornwallLive that at around 5pm on December 28 her son went outside to show his aunt his new Christmas present and, unbeknownst to them, Theresa’s schnauzer, Vincent, followed them out the gate. As it was dark and raining, Vincent was not visible on the road outside his home in Newquay and he was sadly hit by a car before then being hit by a van, which he became stuck under.
Theresa said she only realised Vincent was missing when she got a call from her neighbour to say there was a dog outside on the road. “When my neighbour called, I thought ‘it can’t be my dog’ because both of my dogs are here,” she said.
“But then I opened the back door and I could hear Vincent screaming down the road. I just ran there and saw people had tried to get him out from under the van but he bit three people and then he bit me because the poor soul was scared and in so much pain but I just held on to him until they reversed the van back off him.”
Luckily, Vincent survived but he suffered a series of injuries – most of which were minor. However, Theresa said his leg still hasn’t recovered as he suffered a “rare” injury when he fractured his shoulder blade in a way that makes it difficult to fix.
He has recently undergone an operation on his leg, which Theresa hopes will repair it. He is now on bed rest for four weeks and if his leg doesn’t recover, he will have to go back to the vet for another operation.
“Every three days I had to take him to have his plasters changed but it got to the stage where he was in so much pain, I didn’t know what to do,” Theresa said. “I’m hoping this latest operation is going to fix it but if it doesn’t, he will have to go back to the vet.”
Theresa McColl’s dog, Vincent, who was run over by a car and a van
(Image: Theresa McColl)
Theresa said she has already spent all of her pet insurance on Vincent as he has had to have a lot of work done. However, his latest operation costs £2,800, which she said she simply cannot afford to pay on her own.
“I didn’t think I would need to spend more than £1,000 on his life when I took out the insurance because when we go out, I take him in the car and then we go to a big field to run,” Theresa explained. “I’m a pensioner, so I can’t afford to pay it on my own but the vet has been absolutely fantastic with me.”
Theresa has now set up a GoFundMe fundraising page to help raise funds for Vincent’s operation and vet bill. She has already raised £800 of her £1,300 target and said she is grateful for the support she has received so far. You can donate towards the GoFundMe, here.
“I keep thanking everyone who has donated so far because I don’t know how else to show how grateful I am,” Theresa said. “If anybody else is willing to donate to the fundraiser, that would be amazing.”
She added that the whole ordeal left her “heartbroken” and she is now desperate to ensure Vincent recovers. “I was absolutely devastated and heartbroken by what happened because he’s my baby,” Theresa said.
“I couldn’t believe that he got out and I couldn’t believe that he lived. I mean, you really should have seen him, he lost a few of his teeth, he got cuts and bruises all over him and he still has knots in his fur, so we’ve had to cut a lot of it off.
“Since they shut the road past Morrisons in Newquay, it’s been absolutely manic and I’m not blaming anybody for it but it has never been as busy as it is now. You take your life in your hands crossing the road and Vincent didn’t stand a chance, bless him.”
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