Beagle believed hit by train makes miraculous recovery after being treated by Horsham vets

Two-year-old Ronnie was treated at Anderson Abercromby Veterinary Referrals for a broken leg he suffered while missing from home for 10 days.

Ronnie fled from his garden after being scared by fireworks and his owners feared the worst when they were told a dog matching his description had been hit by a train.

Ronnie survived the incident and, despite not being able to put weight on his broken leg, eventually made his way back home and was reunited with his owners.

Due to the nature of his injuries, he was referred to Anderson Abercromby, a veterinary practice in Warnham, near Horsham, which specialises in orthopaedic surgery.

Anderson Abercromby surgeon Federico Piccinno said because Ronnie’s injury was already several days old, the natural healing process had kicked in, making repairing the bone more challenging.

Federico said: “Ronnie was extremely thin when he was admitted to the practice, and he wasn’t able to use his left hind leg or put weight on it. He also had several wounds on his body which looked like friction burns.

“X-rays were taken which showed that the leg was broken in several places. Often, we’d repair this type of fracture with metal plates, but there was a lot of thickening around the fracture site because the bone and soft tissue was already starting to repair itself.

“To give Ronnie the best chance of a full recovery, we used an external fixator, which is like a small metal frame, to realign the bones and keep them in place. Three pins were inserted above the fracture and three more below, connected with external clamps. The structure helped to share Ronnie’s weight, rather than overloading the bone.

“The frame was left in position for around 12 weeks and Ronnie coped very well with it. He was able to recover at home, but only allowed restricted exercise on the lead so he couldn’t run around too much as he’s quite an energetic dog.

“I’m very pleased that the fracture has healed so well and Ronnie looks like a different dog. He’s using his leg and putting weight on it and is much healthier and happier.”

Federico added that if the pet was struck by a train, he was very lucky to survive.

He said: “His injury was caused by a low- to medium-energy impact, so it is possible he could have suffered a glancing blow from a train. He could also have been injured if he jumped away from the train at the last minute and fell. His other wounds were very similar to burns or abrasions, which may have been caused by debris flying up from train tracks.”

Ronnie – who is named after football star Cristiano Ronaldo – is now back home with owner Jo Wackett and her family in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

Jo, an air hostess, says she was working away when Ronnie went missing from the garden.

She said: “Ronnie isn’t usually scared of fireworks but there was a particularly loud bang and my partner, Grant, saw him scrambling over our gate, which was quite an effort as it’s fairly high.

“As soon as I found out he’d escaped I put posts on social media and was contacted by a train driver who saw Ronnie on the tracks and believes his train hit him as it rounded a bend. It happened close to our local station, High Brooms, and when I sent him a photo of Ronnie, he was positive it was the dog he’d seen.

“The train driver was devastated, but I came off the phone with some closure about what had happened. As there were no further sightings of Ronnie, we assumed the worst and told our daughter he wasn’t ever coming home. We were all absolutely heartbroken and completely grieving for Ronnie.”

A few days later, Jo received some unexpected news when a friend phoned to say they’d seen Ronnie close to her home.

She said: “We were driving to the coast to give our daughter a treat after such a tough time, but we turned around and rushed back towards home. After searching for a while, we called it a day as our other dog, Marley, was getting tired. Back home I found a note pushed through the letterbox saying someone had seen Ronnie in the local park and followed him home to our house. Because he was injured, they took him to the local vets.

“When we got there, Ronnie was so happy to see us. I sat on the floor and he put his head on my shoulder for a proper cuddle and he left it there for a couple of minutes. He was thin, covered in nasty cuts and his leg was badly broken, but he was alive and that was all that mattered.”

Jo added that she was delighted with the care Ronnie received at Anderson Abercromby.

She said: “I’m so pleased that he was referred to Anderson Abercromby because the team are incredible. As well as using their expertise to repair Ronnie’s fracture and make sure he’s got full use of his injured leg, we’ve felt supported and looked after the whole time Ronnie was in their care. If we were worried or had any questions, they were happy for us to contact them at any time.

“We can tell Ronnie genuinely loves it there and every time we’ve visited for a check-up he has been happy and relaxed - his tail wags like mad and he strains at the lead to get in the building. After his ordeal he’s been more nervous of noises and he’s scared of the dark, but the team at Anderson Abercromby has given him so much reassurance and they’ve really shown their passion for animals when dealing with Ronnie. We’re so grateful for everything they’ve done for him.”