A dog “shattered” its paw after spotting a rabbit from a balcony – and jumping off in pursuit.

Cocker spaniel Jarvis, who lives on Sheppey, leapt two-and-a-half metres and fractured four of the bones connecting his ankle to his toes.

His owner Zoe Ross said the accident happened after they went for a Sunday lunch at her mother-in-law’s holiday lodge on the Island.

She explained: “The lodge has a veranda that looks over a field and there are often rabbits hopping around.

“We’d been there many times before but for some reason, perhaps because one of the rabbits came a bit closer, Jarvis decided to go over the top.

“He disappeared from sight and then we heard him yelping in pain. It was such a horrible sound.

“We’re not sure if he fell awkwardly or misjudged the jump and banged his paw against the veranda’s metal handrail, but we knew straight away he’d badly hurt his leg.”

One-year-old Jarvis was referred to Anderson Abercromby Veterinary Referrals in West Sussex.

He had to have complex surgery lasting for more than an hour as it was found that four of the five metatarsal bones in his right hind paw were broken.

Veterinary surgeon Federico Piccinno said: “The injury was quite severe because of the number of bones involved and because they were fractured very close to the joint which connects his paw to his leg.

“Usually, we would use a metal plate or short pins to repair fractures in these bones, but because the bone fragments were so near to the joint this wasn’t possible.

“Instead, I used long metal pins which I inserted through the knuckle joint between Jarvis’s toe and the long bones of his foot.

“While we do see similar injuries in dogs, Jarvis was quite unusual in that four of the five metatarsals were damaged and they were fractured right at the top of the bones.”

The accident happened in September, and Jarvis was able to go home a few days after the surgery but his exercise had to be limited while his bones healed.

Two months later he had a check-up and his fractured toes have now all healed.

Federico said: “I am delighted that he’s recovered so well and is able to use his paw normally.”

Zoe said: “I was worried that the injury was so severe it could lead to long-term problems for Jarvis, but he’s weight bearing on the foot and is back to his usual lively self.”