Firefighters free dog after 'freak' safety belt accident

A dog has been cut free from her car seat harness after becoming trapped in a "freak accident".

Vets at Wolstanton, in Staffordshire, tried unsuccessfully to release Lola the three-year-old miniature pinscher by lubricating and shaving her leg.

Fearing they might break it if they pulled too hard, they called on Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Holly Ravenhall, from White Cross Vets, said it was an unusual case and "dogs have a habit of surprising us".

Lola's owner Leighanne Harrison, from Wolstanton, said she was a very excitable dog and liked to stand up on car journeys, so they used the harness attached to a seatbelt for safety.

On this occasion she became trapped while the harness was being removed and Ms Ravenhall said they had called the fire service because "nothing was working".

She said: "Because Lola is such a small dog, there was also a real risk that pulling it could break the fragile bones in that part of her leg, which would have led to a whole host of complications."

The firefighters were able to use a cutting tool to free her in minutes.

Ms Harrison said: "Thankfully Lola wasn't traumatised by the incident and still loves her car journeys, but we now hold her paws when we're taking the harness off to make sure it never happens again."

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