Kate Middleton is the kind of person many of us wish we could be. In addition to being beautiful and talented, she is also married to Prince William, the future King of England. As a result, she’ll never have to worry about having enough money, making rent, or any of the other struggles us commoners have to endure on a regular basis.
With all that being said, Kate has had some downright terrifying scares over the years. Most recently, this includes her cancer diagnosis. But way back when she was pregnant with her first child, Kate had a scare that didn’t involve cancer. Instead, it involved the last thing you’d expect: the family dog!
This dog’s near-death experience startled Kate at the worst possible time. Just what happened with the royal pooch, and how did it affect the future Queen of England? Keep reading to find out!
Where Kate Middleton lived during her first pregnancy
Some of the most important context for this strange tale of doggy woe is where it occurred. You see, none of this went down in any posh locations such as Kensington Palace. Instead, it all occurred at the home of Kate Middleton’s parents.
That brings us to the obvious question: why was Kate Middleton at her parent’s house when the family pet nearly got killed? The short answer is that she decided to move back in with her parents during her first pregnancy. This offered her a natural support system to help her overcome the scariest moments of pregnancy. Little did they know, though, that the scariest thing Kate would face while pregnant with Prince George would involve something as innocuous as the family dog.
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Meet the family dog
Just who is the family dog at the heart of this wild story? The dog is named Zulu, a cute cocker spaniel that belonged to Kate’s brother, James. For Kate, one of the unexpected benefits of moving back in with her parents was that she got to spend plenty of face time with this adorable dog as well as the rest of her family.
At the time of the incident, Zulu was only a puppy. That heightened the terror of the whole event, of course…even as everyone was imagining all the happy years that they would spend watching this dog grow up, it looked like he might not survive the terrible events of the night in question. But we’ll go ahead and give you dog lovers some happy news about this story: yes, the dog survives!
The nightmare situation involving the family pet
We know about this incident thanks to a memoir written by Kate’s brother, James. He’s a real dog lover (heck, the memoir’s name is Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life), but he couldn’t be by Zulu’s side 24/7. One day, though, he had left home for a trip to London when he received a terrifying phone call about an accident back home.
He returned to Bucklebury Manor and saw a firetruck as well as a truly distressing sight: his mother covered in blood. As it turns out, young Zulu had gotten his head stuck between the gate and the gatepost. Carole Middleton had felt compelled to stay put and keep the puppy from snapping his neck in his frantic attempts to escape. In turn, the puppy had bitten her, causing the woman to blood profusely. Fortunately for dog and human alike, James and his father Michael were able to free them by using a crowbar.
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A trip to the hospital…and the vet
For the Middletons, the entire ordeal with Zulu, the gate, and Carole Martin was understandably horrifying. The incident had a relatively happy ending, though…both of them were freed and both of them made a full recovery.
Before that recovery could happen, though, the injured parties needed proper medical care. Zulu was taken to a vet at the same time that Carole was taken to the hospital. Medical professionals were able to mend their bodies. As for James Middleton, though, he worried that the incident might have injured Kate in a way that she might never recover from.
Why Kate Middleton’s brother feels guilty
Even though he wasn’t there when the incident with Zulu started, James Middleton still felt guilty. It was his puppy that caused all of this chaos, and before the night was over, his poor mother was covered in blood. However, the one that he felt guilty about the most was someone with everything to lose: Kate Middleton.
In his memoir, James wrote about the enduring guilt he felt because he worried the incident could have affected Kate while she was very pregnant with her first child. We can understand his guilt…in the worst-case scenario, sudden trauma like this could hurt the unborn baby or even trigger a miscarriage. Fortunately, all’s well that ends well: not only did Zulu and Carole make a full recovery, but Kate’s first child turned out just fine.
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