An adored family pet beat all odds and survived being run over by a cyclist.

Staffordshire bull terrier, Shadow, initially walked away from the accident but after collapsing at home was rushed to hospital.

His devastated owner waited as vets had to drain almost a pint of blood from his abdomen as his liver was severely damaged.

Vets fought desperately for five days to save the three-year-old’s life.

His injuries were so severe staff at the PDSA Pet Aid Hospital in Gillingham warned his owner, Sian Berry, he may not survive.

An ultrasound scan revealed Shadow had a lacerated liver and severe internal bleeding and Shadow lost around a quarter of his blood.

Miss Berry, 30, from Maidstone said: “I couldn’t believe what had happened. I was taking Shadow for his usual walk in the local park when a cyclist suddenly appeared and ran over him.

“He didn’t seem too bad at first, just in a bit of shock, but by the time I got him home I realised something was badly wrong. He seemed in pain so I took him straight to hospital. When they told me how poorly he was it was just heart-breaking.”

Aoife McCormack, PDSA vet, said: “We were faced with the nightmare situation of bleeding from two areas – both from the vessels to his spleen and the tear in his liver. The trauma to the liver was the most worrying for us as it’s much harder to stem the flow.

“Shadow had some very serious injuries and it was touch and go whether he would pull through surgery, without swift treatment there was a very real chance he would have bled to death.”

Miss Berry said the period Shadow was in hospital was like a living hell and her 10-year-old daughter Alisha was devastated at the thought of losing him.

But Shadow put up a fight and pulled through.

Miss Berry added: “We were all on tenterhooks. Alisha thinks the world of him so it was a very worrying time. The care he received from PDSA was amazing. If we had lost him, it would be like losing a family member. I can’t thank the vets and nurses enough for everything they’ve done.”