Leyland puppy breaks both legs in a matter of weeks

The Staffordshire bull terrier, named Steve, from Leyland, suffered fractures in both legs within a matter of weeks.

The five-month-old staffy first injured himself while playing on the sofa, causing a fracture to his left growth plate.

Two weeks later, he suffered the same injury to his right leg.

Owner Chris Austin said: "Steve was playing on the sofa and then jumped off after his ball.

"He started yelping and limping and we noticed swelling on his knee.

"Our local vets told us he had fractured his growth plate and needed an operation to fix it, which is when he was referred to Kentdale."

After the first fracture, the pup was taken to Linnaeus-owned Kentdale Referrals in Cumbria, where specialist Jan Beranek performed the surgery.

However, Steve was back at Kentdale two weeks later for the same procedure on his other leg.

Mr Austin added: "They couldn’t have been any better, he was literally in for surgery the next morning.

"But then we couldn’t believe it when, just two weeks later, he did exactly the same to his other leg, so we went back for the same procedure."

Steve required pins in both legs to secure the plates and was placed on strict crate rest.

Mr Austin said: "Keeping Steve on crate rest for eight weeks wasn’t as bad as we first thought it would be.

"He has calming medication to keep him relaxed which really helped, and we brought toys to keep him occupied.

"He is doing fantastically now.

"He is fully healed and back to his mischievous self.

"The treatment from Kentdale was great.

"They explained everything to us, gave regular updates and we could ring whenever we wanted to check up on Steve.

"The staff there are lovely and we would recommend them to anyone in future."

Steve is now 'fully healed and back to his mischievous self' (Image: Supplied)

Jan Beranek from Kentdale said: "Steve is a really boisterous puppy and it was just unlucky he had these injuries so close together.

"He’s bounced back remarkably well and we’re delighted he’s back to enjoying his puppyhood."