Sniper – The real-life Christmas Miracle

On Christmas morning, as the rest of us were enjoying opening our presents, the incredible team at Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust(GHDT) had no time for such festivities, as a little dog called Sniper was rushed in to their veterinary centre.

Staff at the centre have seen lots of gruesome things, but Sniper was a shocking sight to everyone. A huge fragment of her skull was displaced, bleeding into the eye and she was extremely lethargic and dehydrated. Sniper had been attacked by someone with a machete – her owners have no idea why, particularly as she was a friendly and well-known dog in their local area. Typically, dogs in The Gambia re free to roam in and out of their family compounds (gardens). Sniper went out exploring as normal on Christmas Eve and returned in the evening with this horrific injury.

The injury on her head was a perfect hole to the inside of her skull, just above and between her eyes. It was touch and go whether it was even possible for her to survive this level of injury so close to her brain, but to complicate matters she was heavily pregnant so the GHDT team were even more strongly motivated to do everything they could to save her.

Emily Elgar, long-term volunteer at the GHDT said “She is such a sweet natured dog. Throughout every second of her examinations, treatments and wound dressings she has never shown an ounce of aggression. We honestly didn’t know if we would be able to save her life, but we did everything we could to try. Our Christmas plans went straight out of the window!”

After being made comfortable, having a wet-dry dressing applied and her head bandaged she was given some peace and quiet in a comfortable bed. Boxing Day morning the team were delighted to be greeted with the surprise of her having given birth to seven beautiful puppies! It is suspected that perhaps she was attacked because she had been nesting in preparation to give birth, in a place deemed unacceptable by someone.

“She is a fantastic mother, nurturing and attentive despite the obvious pain she must be in and she has been so incredibly trusting of us caring for her” explained Emily. Sniper has been very willing to allow the team to check all of her puppies carefully, administer her medications and dress her wounds. Only once has a small amount of sedation been required during her treatment –this was when the fragment of her head had to be stapled into place but even with the discomfort of that she never once growled or snapped. n If you are able to support this amazing charity to help other animals who find themselves in surprising predicaments, you can do so in the following ways:

We are now delighted to say that she is almost fully recovered and she and her puppies are doing really well. She has a caring and loving owner who has been in contact throughout and is keen to have her back at home. The GHDT now carries out a great deal of work with dogs and cats in The Gambia and there is no shortage of very extreme medical emergencies to deal with. The chances of Sniper surviving were very slim, but thanks to the dedication of the team she looks as though she will now make a full recovery – a true Christmas Miracle.

- ONLINE - Via https://www.justgiving.com/ghdt or via the 'Online Donations' tab on our website

- VIA POST - Simply send an old fashioned cheque to Gambia Horse and Donkey Trust, Brewery Arms Cottage, Stane Street, Ockley, Surrey. RH5 5TH - PAYPAL ghdt@gambiahorseanddonkey.org.uk