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A very lucky dog is expected to make a miraculous and full recovery after being found with a 19″ crossbow bolt through his head.
Ziggy was found by two people driving down a rural road in a remote, heavily wooded area near Wansford, Peterborough in the UK. The bolt, which had obviously been shot at the Staffordshire Terrier intentionally and at very close range, was still sticking through Ziggy’s skull, having entered through the back of his head and pushed through his cheek.
The couple rushed Ziggy to a nearby veterinarian who immediately contacted the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA).
“Despite this bolt going straight through Ziggy’s head it miraculously missed his brain, ear capsule and eyes – I could not quite believe it,” RSPCA inspector Justin Stubbs explained. “I don’t know whether they then took him deep into the wood and dumped him, or had already taken him into the wood and so just left him there, injured.”
“He would have been terrified, and in complete agony,” Stubbs added. It really broke my heart this one.”
What was more touching, Stubbs described, was when Ziggy, despite what he’d been through, sat in front of him, wagging his tail and looking for some attention – all with a bolt sticking out of his head!
Veterinarians successfully removed the crossbow bolt from 2-year old Ziggy’s head, and are hopeful for a full recovery. However, the next few days will be crucial to his survival as the risk of infection from such a wound is high.
See BBC footage of Ziggy’s amazing ordeal and recovery here.
WARNING, this video contains some graphic images that may be disturbing to some viewers.
