A cocker spaniel who survived a terrifying fall down a 60ft dam has been shortlisted for the PDSA Pet Survivor Awards 2016.
The awards are a national competition recognising death-defying ‘tails’ of miraculous survival.
Two-year-old Darcy, from Kellas near Dundee, was on a Highlands walk with her owners at Glascarnoch Dam in July when she suddenly jumped a five-foot wall — only to plunge down the concrete slipway.
She suffered horrific injuries but went on to make an astounding recovery and is now up against five other plucky pets for the coveted title.
The competition, run in association with PDSA Petsurance, recognises pets’ incredible survival spirit, the love and devotion of their owners and the skill and dedication of the veterinary teams who helped save their lives.
Darcy was entered into the competition by her owners Wendy and Gordon Lyon who described the moment Darcy jumped.
Wendy said: “We’ve walked there many times and she’s never done anything like that before.
“We have no idea why she suddenly decided to jump. We expected the worst and ran to look over the wall. Incredibly, she survived the fall and was looking up at us. We were distraught as we couldn’t reach her.
“It took a while for the fire brigade to arrive as we were in the middle of nowhere. When the fireman brought her up, hypothermia was setting in and she was slipping in and out of consciousness, but she still managed to nuzzle his cheek.”
Despite having internal bleeding, a damaged spleen, air leaking into her chest cavity, a damaged liver, a fractured pelvis, a fractured front leg which was also dislocated and complex, open fracture of her back leg and hip joint, Darcy pulled through.