Cromwell dog Dre had a tough start to the year.

While everyone else was spending New Year’s Eve celebrating, Dre was having emergency treatment to try save one of his back legs, after jumping into broken glass left behind in a recreation area near town.

His owners, who have asked not to be identified, love him so much they did everything they could to prevent having his leg amputated after he crawled out of the pines dripping with blood on December 31.

Dre was transferred to an after hours clinic in Alexandra and stitched up before vets had to make a tough decision.

Being the dog lovers they are, Dre’s owners did some research and found a third option which involved using an orthopaedic veterinarian specialist from Rotorua - at a cost of $9000.

It was a two week wait in isolation with no daily dog walks or swims at the lake, before the family flew him to the North Island to have his surgery.

One of the Central Otago District Council’s designated ‘dog exercise areas’ along Bannockburn Road. Photo: Supplied

The broken glass had cut through all of the muscles and ligaments in his back left leg, so the vet carried out ‘arthrodesis’ - the fusing of his bone joints with a plate and screws - (instant robotic dog).

It will be a six-month recovery before he's out running around Cromwell plantation areas again - his owner said they did not feel confident in using any of the dog exercise areas anyway.

“We don’t have a dog facility in Cromwell that is safe,” she said.

They still have a long way to go, and there is a chance the plate might not work - time will tell.   

Location of Cromwell’s dog exercise areas. Photo: Supplied

Dre has an interesting history. A rescue dog from Whangarei, he has done a bit of travel, after his owner put him on a bus south when she saw he needed a home five years ago.

His owner said she would like there to be better signage of designated dog areas around Cromwell, and a better approach to littering, especially broken glass.  

When contacted, the Central Otago District Council said the incident took place outside of the designated dog exercise zones.

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