A YOUNG dog suffered a horrendous wound after running along a footpath.

Rosie, a three-year-old border collie was running along the path near the Abereiddy coast path, when her chest and front leg were cut open by a rusty metal spike.

Rosie’s owner, Kimberley Doncaster, from Haverfordwest, was walking the pup when Rosie ran down a slope and she heard a yelp.

“It was millimetres away from her vein,” Kimberley said.

“She’s still recovering, she’s had her stitches out but there wasn’t enough skin to cover the hole, they had to remove quite a lot of dead skin.

“We are not allowed to walk her at the moment. Trying to keep a hyperactive border collie still is almost impossible, she wants to go for a walk or go up the garden, but she can’t.”

Ms Doncaster said that they had met a young girl who was really taken with Rosie and she was worried that it could have been her.

“There was a young girl who was really attached to my dog and I could not help but think what could have happened if it was her who was injured - my dog was inches from her life.

“This is near a busy beach, we wanted to get it known that this was there. It’s a steep slope so if you lose your footing then it could get anyone."

Since her accident earlier this month Rosie has had to wear a cone to stop her from making her injuries worse.

“We have to keep an eye out for infection, so she’s not out the woods yet.

“I don’t want anyone else to have to go through this.”

A Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority spokesman that the incident occurred on National Trust land on an inland right of way, but it has removed the object.

She added: “It was brought to our attention today that an old metal fence post was to be found in the overgrown verge alongside a public footpath, leading inland from Abereiddy.

“The post was removed by a National Park Authority warden the same day.”

Mark Underhill, Countryside Manager for National Trust North Pembrokeshire said: "We sympathise with the owner’s situation and are saddened to hear that the dog was injured, as we would if any animal may have been hurt on National Trust land.

"We have not been made aware of the specifics, but will now look into this reported incident and are happy to discuss the matter further with the dog owner."