A DOG involved in a freak accident that saw him speared twice on the same spiked pole is alive only thanks to Petersfield vets.

While playing in the garden, golden retriever Monty somehow got skewered through his groin and his hind leg by a 60cm metal bird-bath spike.

The family pet needed three hours of life-saving surgery at St Peter’s Vets to remove the pole.

The injuries were described as some of the most horrific that vet Chloe Graham had ever seen.

She said: “It is definitely an injury I will never forget. We were shocked by what had happened. Monty is a very lucky boy to have survived.

“I am just so happy we were able to help because he’s a lovely, friendly dog.”

Chloe and veterinary nurse Georgie Marie rushed to Monty’s aid in response to an emergency call from his owner, Jayne O’Brien.

Jayne had found her much-loved pet lying injured in the garden at their home in Durford Wood near Petersfield.

Jayne went out to investigate when she heard four-year-old Monty and her other retriever, Wellington, making a lot of noise.

She said: “Monty was squealing in pain, so I rushed over to him and what I saw was horrific.

“There was a long piece of metal, about as thick as my thumb, sticking out of his body and the noise he was making was awful.”

Jayne realised that Monty had become impaled on a metal stake supporting a bird bath.

It had been knocked over, perhaps by the playful dogs, and somehow the spike became so deeply embedded in Monty it couldn’t be removed on site.

After sedating him, Chloe, Georgie, Jayne and her husband Tim carefully stretchered him to the pet ambulance, and he was rushed to the vets’ surgery.

Chloe said: “His injuries were very serious, but luckily the pole missed the major organs, nerves and arteries. If any had been damaged, the result could have been much worse.

“We decided to make the pole’s entrance and exit holes slightly bigger. We were relieved the rusty pole slid out fairly easily, but it left lots of debris behind.

“To avoid infection, we used litres and litres of fluid to wash away as much dirt and flecks of rust as possible, and this was the most time-consuming part of the procedure.”

Monty spent five nights at the vets before going home. He has also needed specialist dental treatment because he badly damaged his teeth trying to pull out the metal pole.

Jayne said: “I am so grateful to St Peter’s because they did an amazing job. I can’t praise them enough. The worst thing is how much pain Monty was in. It took a long time to get the noise he was making out of my head – I thought I was going to lose him.

“If you look at him now, though, you wouldn’t be able to tell what he’s been through – he’s back to his old self.”