A dog has been saved by a vet after inhaling a deadly thorn.

Minnie, a Springer Spaniel, suffered for six months before a vet finally discovered the three-inch thorn embedded near her lungs.

Her owners believe she must have inhaled while playing near their home.

She underwent a delicate operation at Calder Vets as the thorn was lodged just  two millimetres from vital organs.

Owner Jo Hocken said:“The vets in Dewsbury performed a CT scan which revealed a foreign object which they thought she may have swallowed.

"It was clear from the start what would have to happen and that meant an operation. We were both fully informed that it would be a tricky and long procedure, and it would be a big operation for Minnie. We had mixed feelings as we knew the object had to come out but were naturally worried.

The three-inch thorn removed by a vet from Minnie the dog
The three-inch thorn removed by a vet from Minnie the dog

“On the day of the operation the veterinary surgeon Joachim Proot explained everything that would happen. It was horrible and very emotional leaving her but we felt she was in good hands.

"They operated, and the object transpired to be a three-inch long thorn or shoot, which Minnie had in fact inhaled not swallowed. The thorn had worked its way into her lung and out the other side, and was lodged between her heart and her oesophagus.

“They tried to remove the thorn via her abdomen but realised they couldn’t reach it from there, so had to then open her chest up and managed to eventually find it lodged near her heart. Because it had been there for so long it had grown into her internal tissue, so it was truly remarkable they managed to find it and then remove it safely”.

Mr Proot,said: “We’re delighted that Minnie has made a full recovery and is back to her normal self.

“This was complex surgery and Minnie was very lucky, if the thorn had been embedded just two millimetres either side then it is most likely that she wouldn’t have survived”.