Vets ponder if someone broke pup legs

SANTA FE (KRQE) - Santa Fe Animal Shelter workers are wondering if someone could have deliberately caused severe breaks to a 6-week-old pup's two legs.

The Santa Fe Animal Shelter and Humane Society said the Chihuahua-mix was brought to their shelter on Tuesday.

Veterinarian Jennifer Steketee said animal control workers found the badly injured puppy hiding under a bush. Steketee said it was obvious the dog, now named Nicholas, was more than malnourished.

“This is just a splint for now,” Steketee said. The back is a femoral fracture, so there's no way in splinting a femoral fracture,”

Steketee said both of the dogs left legs are broken.  On Friday Nicholas is scheduled to undergo surgery.

For now, animal shelter workers are trying to get the pup back on his feet but they can’t help to wonder what happened to him.    

“Some type of trauma whether he was hit by a car lightly, or thrown out of a car,” Steketee said.

While there's a chance he could have been run over. Vets said its hard to believe because of one of the fractures.

“One of the fractures being a femur that takes a fair bit of force for that to happen,” Steketee said.

This means that much force from a car would have probably crushed him. The dog getting thrown from a car may be a more likely guess.

“You see a little skinned nose right there,” Steketee said.

Shelter workers said despite the tough road he’s had to travel the puppy is just a playful as others at the shelter.

“He's super sweet, he came in wagging, he eats everything in sight, he's a very happy cut little pup,” Steketee said.

Vets said it's lucky somebody found Nicholas when they did because he probably wouldn't have survived a cold night outside.