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POOCH HORROR

Glasgow dog left paralysed after panicking and slipping a disc during Hogmanay fireworks

A DOG was left paralysed after panicking during Hogmanay fireworks.

Owner Melissa Lurinsky, 27, told how staffie Dixie has been left unable to walk after bangs caused her to tense up and slip a disc.

 Melissa with her pooch Dixie
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Melissa with her pooch DixieCredit: Les Gallagher - The Sun Glasgow

Experts say she may never recover — despite enduring a £6,000 emergency op.

Melissa told how she found her pooch lifeless after the celebrations.

She said: “The fireworks had been constant. Dixie shakes and pants every time they go off.

“We had to lift her on to the couch — her tail was heavy and she couldn’t wag it.

 Dixie had to undergo emergency surgery
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Dixie had to undergo emergency surgeryCredit: Les Gallagher - The Sun Glasgow

“We could tell there was something seriously wrong. The next day she couldn’t move her back legs.

“She has lost control of her bowels and developed a heart murmur.”

Melissa says Dixie stopped moving after a series of explosions outside her flat in Glasgow’s Gorbals.

She found the six-year-old dog prone on New Year’s Day.

 Dixie is believed to have slipped a disc
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Dixie is believed to have slipped a discCredit: Les Gallagher - The Sun Glasgow

Dixie was rushed to the University of Glasgow Small Animal Hospital.

Experts say she was so agitated she slipped a disc in her spine.

Park worker Melissa and boyfriend Shaun Curran, 26, had to find thousands of pounds to pay for her procedure because the dog was not insured.

They were forced to pull out of a “dream” house move to fund the surgery.


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Melissa added: “We had to scramble to find the money.

“We had put an offer in on a two-bedroom house. We were moving from a flat and it was our dream home.

"In the end, we had to back out so we could pay for the operation.

“We’re both gutted, but we did what we had to. Dixie was a present from my mum for my 21st birthday. She’s a member of our family.”

Dixie has been left unable to walk and is being kept in for observation.

Melissa says she was urged to consider putting the animal down before the operation.

She wants displays to be limited to organised shows on holidays.

And she has written to the First Minister calling for restrictions on firework sales.

Kate Stalin, consultant neurologist at the vet school, performed the four-hour procedure on Dixie.

She said: "She suffered the highest grade of spinal injury.She still hasn’t got any movement back. She’s got a long way to go.

“I’ve had other situations where a dog has bolted from being spooked by fireworks. It’s returned with the pads of its paws worn off from running.”

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