Carefully, they carried the dog and wheel into the car and headed to town. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Carefully, they carried the dog and wheel into the car and headed to town. Photo / Gisborne Herald
A Gisborne dog with more lives than a cat had another lucky escape last night - thanks to the fire service and a vet.
Terrier-cross Ellie went missing yesterday and out of sight of her distraught owners Anton and Susan Destounis, she got her head stuck through the centre hole of a car wheel in a back shed on their Makauri property.
"Anton and [son] Eugene had been in the orchard picking avocados with Ellie and our other dog Jimmy. Later, Anton went to feed them and only one turned up - so he went out with his torch," Susan Destounis said today.
She became stuck with her head through the centre hole of a car wheel in a back shed on their Makauri property. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Anton went into an old unused shed at the back of the property and found poor little Ellie in a corner about 7pm.
"She was stuck in the wheel and there was an old piece of iron grating on her nose every time she tried to pull herself out. Her neck was so swollen."
The dog possibly got stuck chasing a rat.
Susan Destounis rang VetEnt while youngest son Evahrn started looking for a grinder to cut off the wheel off.
"They told us to bring her in if we could get her into the car. They had oxygen and could sedate her. The vet said he didn't have the tools to get her out but would call the fire service and see if they could help."
Carefully, they carried the dog and wheel into the car and headed to town.
"When we got to Gladstone Rd, we could see a fire engine with lights flashing outside the vets and four firemen with cutting equipment. It was amazing - they were there for us. We were so grateful."
Ellie was sedated while the operation was carried out. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Then it was time to try to free little Ellie.
"It was a huge team effort. I had to walk out a couple of times - poor Ellie lying there with her tongue hanging out."
The firemen told Destounis they had not had a call like this one before.
"Once they were called to a pup with its head in a teapot but they smashed the pot."
A senior firefighter said it took a while to get it off because the dog's head was tightly trapped. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Ellie was sedated while the operation was carried out. A senior firefighter said it took a while to get the wheel off because the dog's head was tightly trapped.
The Destounis family are happy and thankful for all the help and to have their dog home and on the mend.
"The vet said she would not have lasted the night - her neck was so swollen. She is not very happy this morning after her big night but she spent the night in bed and is on the mend."
Ellie after the operation. Photo / Gisborne Herald
Yesterday's events came as a surprise to her owners.
"Poor Ellie. She is the most placid, non-roaming dog around but she has had another couple of close shaves with death. She has got more lives than a cat."
Previously she was run over by a visitor as she slept on the driveway.
"She had internal bleeding and came right. Another time she went walkabout with another of our dogs. Molly came back two days later and then someone found Ellie four days later at Waihirere - more than 10km from home."
Destounis can now see the funny side to Ellie's plight: "But not last night. It was so stressful."
The Destounis family are happy and thankful for all the help and to have their dog home and on the mend. Photo / The Gisborne Herald
