A canine Houdini made a lucky escape after falling out of her owners’ car at 70mph on a busy motorway.
Retired couple, Sandra and Graham McGregor, are counting their blessings after their seven-year-old pet Labrador Suki survived the freak accident.
The pair were driving from their home in Falkirk to London on the M73 with Labradors, Suki and Sasha, when another driver frantically flagged them down at 70mph.
To their horror, they found the boot of their BMW 520d estate car had swung open and Suki had been flung on to the carriageway.
Terrified their beloved pet might have been killed, Mr McGregor pulled on to the hard shoulder and ran a mile along the motorway praying she was alright.
But to his relief, he found Suki lying on the grass at the side of the road.
The couple abandoned their trip to see family in London and rushed Suki for treatment, where they were told she had injured her back legs.
Mrs McGregor, a former university lecturer, said: “There was a car behind us tooting and gesturing, but I didn’t know what for so I pulled into the other lane.
“He then pulled up beside us and shouted the boot was open and the dog had fallen out.
“We were shocked because apart from fearing Suki had been killed, it could have caused a massive pile-up on the motorway.”
Mr McGregor, a former civil engineer, added: “It felt like the longest run I’ve ever had to make.
“When I got there, she seemed fine, but we wanted to get her checked out as soon as possible.”
It’s still a mystery as to what caused the boot to fly open.
Veterinary surgeon, Douglas Paterson from Apex Vets in Denny, was amazed Suki had only suffered relatively minor injuries.
He said: “She has partial tears in her ligaments in the back legs and was given a morphine drip, antibiotics and fluids. We have given her 14 X-rays and ultrasounds just to make sure there are no internal injuries and everything looks fine.
“So many things could have happened like puncturing a lung. She has been incredibly lucky.”
Mrs McGregor added: “We don’t know how the boot managed to open. We took the car to the garage, but they couldn’t find anything wrong.”