A military veteran feared one of his beloved dogs might not survive after she was badly injured on broken glass that had been dumped on the edge of Thetford Forest.
Mick Walker, 52, had to rush Beanie for emergency treatment after she severed an artery and three tendons in one of her back legs while being walked in Thetford Forest near East Harling.
The 22-month-old cane corso, a large Italian breed, was bleeding heavily as she was taken to Uplands Way Veterinary Clinic in Bressingham after sustaining her injuries on Tuesday, September 10.
Mr Walker, who served in the first Gulf War with the RAF, said: "I walk my dogs regularly in this area but generally stay near the path, however as we went in through the gate she shot off doing an arc behind us back to near where the car was parked.
"When she came back she was bleeding very badly. It was pretty messy with lots of blood. We could have lost her."
He believes Beanie, who is now recovering, had probably stepped on glass or a broken bottle that he subsequently found in the area where she had been.
"It could have been broken glass or a metal container or anything that people seem to randomly discard on the edge of the forest," he said.
"It is a shame that people don't respect the countryside as much as they should. They fly-tip and throw things like glass bottles and torn up coke cans as they are passing on the road. It is things like that, that causes things like this."
The Forestry Commission spends £100,000 each year to deal with fly-tipping in Norfolk, mainly in Thetford Forest, and says it will do everything in its power to prosecute anyone who it finds dumping waste.
Beanie is one of four dogs owned by Mr Walker, who lives at Riddlesworth and who suffers from illnesses related to his military service, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
He said: "My dogs are my life. They are my family, my comfort and help with my PTSD, so when something like this happens it is a massive blow. We don't want dogs injured and we don't want children injured which could happen just as easily."
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