A man was left in shock as he watched his young Pocket American Bulldog break her leg while playing with a rope toy.
Mark McCabe's eight-month-old bulldog called Harley jumped up to catch the toy and landed on her right hindleg that resulted in a fracture.
Mr McCabe, who was left “distraught” by the freak accident, sought help from The Roundhouse Veterinary Hospital in Glasgow.
He said: "We were in the middle of playing with Harley, when one rather high jump, and subsequent fall, made her start yelping.
"She had fallen on her back leg, which had unfortunately twisted as she landed on it, causing it to break.
“It was certainly a shock and we were extremely concerned. Harley is still a baby and we were distraught for her.
“We hoped it wasn’t a broken leg but we were prepared for it, given the nature of the accident.”
Manos Tzimtzimis, an advanced practitioner in Small Animal Surgery at the Pets’n’Vets’ Roundhouse hospital, treated Harley and confirmed that she had sustained a spiral fracture in her right tibia.
He said Harley needed urgent surgery to apply an external skeletal fixator (ESF) to the leg to stabilise the repair and allow the fracture to heal.
Mr Tzimtzimis said: “The fracture was not displaced, so no manipulations were needed, but the challenge was that the fracture line was very long and twisted around her shin-bone.
“This meant there would only be limited bone at both fragments for fixing a plate, which is why we opted for an ESF instead.
“An ESF was duly applied to the medial side of the tibia with two fixation pins in each fragment and a bar connecting them.
“Four weeks of strict rest was advised, Harley made a very good recovery and the ESF was removed at the end of that time.”
Mr McCabe, from Lanark, said Harley has made a tremendous recovery in a short time, and is now back to her usual bouncy, happy self.
He added: “The vets certainly went above and beyond for Harley, constantly monitoring and checking up with her.
“Manos, in particular, was a blessing and Harley seemed to agree as she took a strong liking to him.
“I’d absolutely recommend the Roundhouse hospital. They exceeded any reasonable expectations we had for Harley and how long it would take her to get back to ‘normal’.
“They also showed genuine interest at no detriment to the quality of their work and we are very grateful.”
Pets’n’Vets operates seven practices in the Glasgow area, including Roundhouse Veterinary Hospital.
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