A NEWPORT dog owner whose beloved pet was hurt by a piece of broken glass while out for a walk has warned other animal lovers to stay alert while out for their daily exercise.

Sam West was walking his two dogs Missie and Lottie with his partner Lowri Edwards on Monday evening in Newport's Tredegar Park when Missie stood on a piece of broken glass in a stream and had to be rushed to the vets.

Mr West, of the Gaer, said: “We entered from the entrance by Bassaleg School and we have been down there a few times with my partner, baby and our two rottweilers. We have previously noticed a lot of rubbish including beer cans, glass bottles and disposable barbecues by the log where we usually take the dogs to have a dip in the water.

Missie (left) and Lottie

“This time I didn’t notice any smashed glass or anything when we got there.”

Unfortunately, the glass was only noticed after Missie began whimpering and crying, holding her paw up in the air. Unlike their other rottweiler Lottie, Missie isn’t much of a fan of the water and will only go in as far as she can stand. The two dogs were happily playing, fetching a stick for about five minutes before Mr West crossed the shallow river to stand on the stones.

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Initially both dogs followed and then Missie turned back to Ms Edwards, and was whimpering.

“At first, I thought she was just crying because she couldn’t get to me, so I called her again and then she let out the most horrendous cry I have ever heard," said Mr West. "I instantly knew something was wrong and when I looked across the river, she was holding her paw in the air crying. I could see lots of blood, so I ran through the river to get to her.

“I was shocked when I got to her to see the extent of the cut, I could see all the tendons in her foot.”

Missie's injured paw

After checking the cut to see if there was anything there, Mr West hurriedly carried her back to the entrance of the park, and they went straight to Alpha Vets in Langstone.

“They were amazing," he said. "She had to stay in overnight and they checked her over and had to sedate her to stitch her foot back together and said she was very lucky not to have done major lasting damage to her tendons and paw.”

Missie is now recovering at home after an overnight stay at the vets

After an overnight stay, Missie is now back home recovering – and feeling sorry for herself. She will need regular visits to the vet to change a soft cast on her leg every few days and Mr West - who said he went back to the park the next day and found a number of pieces of broken glass in the water - is thankful for the vets and for insurance – the cost of the treatment without insurance would have been £1,153.