Woman who tripped over chihuahua has life-threatening injuries

She is ruing this ruff day.

Proud pet owner Abby Hay, 28, claims she was left with life-changing injuries after she tripped over her chihuahua, Rue, while walking upstairs in June 2020.

Her beloved dog was playing on the steps as she was going up — she tried to step over the pooch while wearing cheap flip-flops, but Hay lost her footing and fell down 18 stairs.

“I couldn’t believe such a small animal had done that much damage,” Hay told SWNS. “I still can’t believe that it happened.”

The Scottish woman suffered torn ligaments and three broken bones in her ankle — an injury she calls “embarrassing.”

She had her ankle fused together, and doctors believe she will contract arthritis within the next four years.

“Rue is very lucky she’s very cute,” Hay admitted. “At first, I didn’t even want to look at her, and then I realized it wasn’t her fault.”

The Edinburgh resident recalled that she initially didn’t feel pain, but when she tried to stand up, her foot “crumbled” beneath her.

Her aunt called an ambulance, reporting that Hay’s foot was “hanging to one side.”

“When I told everyone at the hospital had happened, they couldn’t believe such a small dog had caused such a massive injury,” Hay said.

“Doctors said they’d seen people who play football or rugby with similar injuries, but hadn’t seen anything like it with dog that small before.”

She underwent surgery to mend her foot, with the doctors using two brackets and four screws to put it back in place.

After two weeks in the hospital, she spent 12 weeks in a cast and four months in a walking boot.

Unfortunately, it’s an injury with long-lasting consequences.

“My ankle is knackered for life — it’s still affecting me now, and I have to get it fused with completely no movement,” Hay lamented.

“My walking is not great now, I have constant swelling — the doctors basically said it won’t go away, and I can’t wear high heels anymore.”

Hay isn’t the first pet owner to suffer serious injuries tripping over a dog.

In 2018, Bexx Hunt revealed she was left nearly paralyzed after tripping over her golden Labrador, Tequila, while heading to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

“It was just something you would never expect,” she told SWNS at the time. “I got up in the night to go to the bathroom and the next thing I was at the bottom of the stairs having taken a huge chunk out of the wall.”