Woman trampled by stampede of cows while trying to rescue her head-butted dog

10 September 2023 , 22:33

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Woman trampled by stampede of cows while trying to rescue her head-butted dog

A woman “thought she would die” when she suffered horrific injuries from stampeding cattle as she tried to save her dog who was head-butted by a cow.

Heather Vance, from Magherafelt, Northern Ireland, has told how she was trampled on by a herd of cows and suffered life-changing injuries in a bid to save her pet Trigger who was surrounded by the animals.

Trigger had jumped into a field of cows and was hurled into a ditch with Heather then attacked as she went to his aid. The dog had to be put down and Heather was saved after an air ambulance was dispatched.

She had come home from work on May 13, 2021, and the incident happened when she took the dog for a walk. “This is me I’m not going to get out of this field today, I’m going to die,” she said, after suffering multiple fractures and she went on to spend six weeks in hospital.

Heather told of how she "thought she would die" (BBC)

Looking back at what happened she told the BBC: “Suddenly, he (Trigger) just jumped into the field where 18 cattle were grazing and they immediately started to circle around him.”

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She continued: "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. This continued on for quite some time and I just lay there with my whole body in severe pain."

Heather suffered a fractured collar bone and elbow as well as three more fractures to her pelvis and extensive soft tissue damage to her thigh. But she managed to get across to a road where she was seen by a neighbour.

Trigger had to be put down after suffering the injuries (BBC)

She was taken by air ambulance to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and has recovered after a long stint in hospital but she was devastated to lose her dog.

"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. I am lucky to be alive here today to tell this story, and don't think I would have been without the air ambulance."

Her account comes as the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland are highlighting the number of deaths from animals is increasing while at the same time there have been fewer fatalities from machinery on farms in recent years.

Tim Hanlon