Dog 'lucky to be alive' after mysterious accident left him with with multiple skull fractures and gaping wounds

Springer Spaniel Bailey suffered multiple skull fractures, gaping wounds to his face and lost several teeth after sprinting off in pursuit of a train while out on a walk.

The calamitous canine, aged nine, was rushed to a vet where he had surgery on his injuries, which also included a lacerated eyelid and partly detached nose.

Experts say the pooch was lucky to live and it’s even more shocking he has gone on to make a full recovery, as can be seen in a number of stark before and after photos.

His relieved owner says she still doesn’t know what caused the injuries, but he ran after a passing train and likely collided with a tree or suffered a fall.

Karen Reilly, from Pontefract, added: “We were out on a walk and suddenly Bailey just took off down the side of the railway line.

“I was shouting and shouting him and whistling him for about half an hour and was starting to get really panicky when he suddenly emerged with his face covered in blood.

“It was awful. It looked like half his jaw had been ripped off, his right eye was battered and disfigured and a chunk of his nose was hanging off.

“I don’t know what happened and was so upset I just wanted to get him to the vets as soon as possible.”

Karen rushed Bailey to award-winning animal hospital Paragon Veterinary Referrals in Wakefield where he was treated by surgeon David Barker.

He said: “The sheer scale of Bailey’s facial trauma made this an unusual and challenging case.

“A first inspection showed that his nose was partly detached, he had a laceration to his eyelid and a fracture of the upper jaw with the displacement of many teeth.

“A subsequent CT scan revealed he’d also suffered multiple skull fractures.

“The surgery to repair the damage and reconstruct the face took more than three hours and there were several, separate parts to the operation.

“The eyelids had to be reconstructed, the nose reattached to the underlying bone and the nostrils reconstructed.”

Mr Barker said it’s unlikely Bailey was hit by the train he was chasing, or else he would probably have suffered fatal injuries.

He added: “It’s more likely that he crashed into a tree or something fell on him but none of us know for sure.”

Karen described the veterinary staff as “fantastic” and said they rang her three or four times a day to update them on Bailey’s condition.

She said: “They really looked after Bailey and he’s made a terrific recovery.

“His face is still a bit wonky, his eye is a little bit droopy but he’s certainly been very lucky indeed.

“He’s had a few escapades in his time but this was the scariest - and hopefully the last.”