An owner is furious after his five-month-old dog was sent home from the vets twice with a broken leg.

Darren James returned to his partner's house in Gillingham late one night to find his pet "crying and whining" and not being able to walk properly.

His dog Beauty was holding her leg up to her rib cage as she struggled to put any weight on it.

At first he thought it might be a "wind up" after he saw a YouTube video of a greyhound walking with one leg up and copying their owner who was on crutches.

Darren only has one leg after an accident so thought Beauty may have been imitating his movements, but after he heard her crying he thought it was more serious.

The 35-year-old said: "I left her in the kitchen, I can only imagine she broke it from jumping and barking around.

"I do not normally leave her but I went to a boxing match and obviously could not take her.

"When we got back, she was not herself. She was crying and whining. I rang the vets straight away."

Darren was directed to a vet company who asked him for a description of what was wrong with Beauty, to send photos and then video called where he was told to go straight to the pet hospital.

The Rainham resident and his partner took Beauty to the PDSA Pet Hospital in Campus Way, Gillingham, and told them they thought her leg was broken.

But instead of organising an x-ray, they were prescribed painkillers and anti-inflammatory medication and told to come back if it carried on.

The pair took the American Pocket Bully back into the hospital earlier this week as there had been no change in the pup's condition.

But they were again turned away with medication.

The dad-of-six said: "I have had to carry my dog into the vets, she was still whining. We thought it was broken and told them but they sent us on our way.

"It just stuck out like a sore thumb and straight away I was concerned. I stressed this to the vets.

"My pet is in pain and has been for two weeks. I can only imagine what is was like. I could see she was in pain, she wanted to jump up but could not.

"She has still got a little shake to her."

Two days later, Darren took Beauty back into the vets where they did an x-ray and discovered the leg was broken.

He said: "I wish they had done it in the first place. She has now got to stay in a cage for eight weeks (while she recovers), it is like putting a baby in a cage for weeks.

"I am very angry about this to be honest. I want them to sort their stuff out so it does not happen to anyone else. It is disgusting. You would not let a human out of hospital with a broken arm.

"They should have checked. The thing is they rang me like it was a surprise it was broken. I do not know what they were expecting."

Beauty had her operation on Thursday where the vets had to re-break the bone as it had begun to set and pin it in place as they try to fix the break.

KentOnline contacted the PDSA to ask for a response about Beauty's treatment, but a spokesman said the charity organisation said it cannot comment on individual cases.

The spokesman added: "As a charity dedicated to helping pets in need, we understand how upsetting it is when a pet falls ill or is injured.

"Our dedicated Gillingham vet team aim to provide a caring and professional service at all times, and our primary concern is always the pet’s wellbeing.

"While we cannot discuss the details of individual cases, we take all complaints very seriously and would invite anyone unhappy with the service or care they are receiving from PDSA to contact us directly."

The charity offers free veterinary service for owners who receive certain benefits and live within the catchment area of a hospital, so Beauty's care was at no cost to the family.

It does also offer services at a reduced cost for certain other benefit claimers.

The PDSA do ask for donations which Darren says he will be making on Tuesday when he takes Beauty in for her check-up.