A DOG owner has been thanking firefighters and an Orford vets for saving the life of his pet pooch.

Daisy the border collie was the subject of a two hour rescue operation after becoming impaled on a tree branch during a run in the woods at Radley Common, Orford.

Owner Paul Rainnie, of Greenwood Crescent, said: “The fields were flooded so we went in the woods and had been there countless times before.

“Daisy was running around when she stopped in front of me and let out a huge yelp.

“When I got closer I could see sticking through her back leg an eight metre piece of tree and her leg was stuck up in the air like a leg of lamb.

“She was making some horrific noises and we didn’t know what to do.”

The 32-year-old and his sister Paula called the fire brigade and a vet but the crew had trouble finding them as they were 20 minutes walk from the nearest road.

The former mental health nurse added a vet and nurse from Rees Vets, Orford Avenue, then ‘showed true dedication’ reaching Daisy in boggy conditions.

The pair sedated the one-year-old canine and put her on a drip as she was going into shock before fire crews cut her free and carried her out of the woods.

The dad to five-year-old Ellie-Mai said: “She’s really lucky as the stick went between her two muscles in her back leg and hasn’t damaged anything.

“The vets gave me the stick afterwards and I’ve kept it because I couldn’t believe the size of it.

“I’m still in shock and I’ve always just seen her as a dog but now it’s brought it home she’s like a second daughter.

“I’m not soft but I was in tears at the vets.

“Everyone was absolutely brilliant.”