Woman reveals how she thought she would die after being trampled by a herd of cows – and how she fought to save her dog Trigger who had to be put down after being headbutted
- Heather Vance suffered life-changing injuries after being trampled by cows
- Her family dog, Trigger, was later put down while she spent six weeks in hospital
A woman has said she is ‘lucky to be alive’ after being trampled by a herd of cows while trying to save her dog.
Heather Vance, from Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, suffered life-changing injuries after climbing into a field to rescue her pet, who was surrounded by cattle.
Her dog, Trigger, had jumped into the field while on a walk, before he was headbutted into a ditch by one of the cows.
Mrs Vance then climbed in after her dog but ended up being trampled by cows herself, before having her life saved by an air ambulance.
Trigger would later have to be put down due to his injuries, while Mrs Vance suffered multiple fractures and spent six weeks in hospital.
Heather Vance (pictured) was trampled by cows after climbing into a field to save her dog
Mrs Vance climbed into the field after taking her dog on an after-work walk near her family farm outside Magherafelt on May 13 2021.
‘Suddenly, he just jumped into the field where 18 cattle were grazing and they immediately started to circle around him,’ she told the BBC.
The beloved family dog was then headbutted into a ditch by one of the cows, before Mrs Vance decided to climb into the field to help him.
But while going to the aid of her pet, she soon found she was under attack herself, as the cows quickly began to trample her.
Heather Vance’s beloved dog, Trigger (pictured), was headbutted by a cow and later put down due to his injuries
‘I had just bent down and I had my hand on top of his collar and the next thing the animals began to trample over me,’ Mrs Vance said.
‘This continued on for quite some time and I just lay there with my whole body in severe pain.’
Before long she was lying in the field without her mobile phone, having suffered a fractured collar bone, a fractured elbow and three fractures in her pelvis.
She had also suffered extensive soft tissue damage to her thigh, but managed to make her way out to a road, where a neighbour spotted her.
An air ambulance flew Heather Vance from Magherafelt to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast in just 15 minutes
An air ambulance was then called which flew Mrs Vance to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.
The 35-mile journey from Magherafelt to the hospital took the air ambulance just 15 minutes.
‘I am lucky to be alive here today to tell this story, and don’t think I would have been without the air ambulance,’ she said.
Sadly, her dog, Trigger, was later put down due to the injuries he suffered from being headbutted.
‘That was just so devastating for me and it very easily could have been me,’ Heather said.
‘For anybody hearing my story I would just say, yes the animals can look lovely in a field, but they are so dangerous.’
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