A DOG has won a top honour at Crufts after battling against an 'Alan Shearer injury'.

Carol Parry, of Cranberry Lane, Darwen, thought Chandlimore Heaven Can Wait's show career was over after a cruciate ligament was ruptured when it was trapped under a dog cage last July.

A great deal of pressure is exerted on to the joints of St. Bernards because of their huge size, so any weakness would have resulted in a limp for Chandlimore, whose pet name in Lunar.

But vet Martin Gabbutt, of Abbeydale Veterinary Centre, Preston New Road, Blackburn, performed a complex one and a half hour operation last August and repaired the ligament to full strength.

And Lunar's comeback was complete when she won the post graduate bitch category at Crufts, beating off competition from 30 other dogs.

Alan Shearer has ruptured his cruciate ligament injury several times -- even spending almost a year on the sidelines with the injury during his spell at Blackburn Rovers in the early 1990s.

Similar injuries have ended the career of many other sportsmen and women.

The cruciate ligament has two ligaments which form a cross shape over the centre of the knee.

To repair it, Martin Gabbutt, had to take a strip of gristle that covers the muscle and part of the knee cap tendon. This was passed through the joint and stitched down to act as a replacement ligament.

Lunar had to undergo six months of physiotherapy to recover -- this even included swimming at a specialist centre in Preston.

Carol said: "We didn't know if she would recover, but she has been very good and you can't see a mark on her now -- if you could she wouldn't have had a chance a Crufts where she just has to look beautiful.

"It was an accident when she was injured. We were at the Blackpool Championship Show and a cage just toppled over onto her and hit her on the back leg.

"She fell down, tried to get up and her leg caught in the wheel and just wrenched it backwards damaging her ligaments.

"I want to thank Martin for repairing her so well, it was a total success."

Martin said: "It is a footballers' injury and she recovered very well for a dog her size. Usually big breeds can be left with a limp."