AN accident-prone pedigree whippet left covered in blood after a confrontation with a cat is recovering after the latest of a number of near-fatal mishaps.

The six-year-old whippet got into a fight with the cat when he was off the lead.

By the time owner Kirsten Davies parted the pair, her whippet, Cloud, looked like he had come off much the worse.

"He had a lot of blood coming out of his mouth. I don't know whether the blood was from my dog or not," said Mrs Davies, of Hamsterley, near Consett, County Durham. "I went back to see the cat, but it was not there."

On a previous occasion, Cloud cut his flank badly after running into a barbed wire fence while chasing something.

On another occasion, he hit a tree while running and punctured a lung and broke his ribs and only a few months ago, he became entangled in barbed wire.

He lost some teeth because he had tried to bite himself free from the fence.

In the latest mishap, Cloud suffered deep cuts and was rushed to The Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital, in Leadgate, near Consett, where Mrs Davies feared he might not pull through because he had lost a lot of blood.

But Cloud recovered and all that remains of his accident are a few scars.

Jacqui Molyneux, principal vet at the hospital, said: "Cloud has got to be one of the luckiest animals we have ever treated.

"Even though his breed is naturally very energetic and inquisitive, Cloud does seem to be a lot more accident prone than most.

"He's a lovely dog, but we hope not to be seeing him for anything else other than his check-ups in future."

Mrs Davies, who has two young children and another whippet called Twiglet, said: "We're so happy to be celebrating Christmas with Cloud because he is such a character and a real part of the family.

"We're just hoping that next year does not see him being rushed to the vets for the fourth year in a row."

She said that Cloud was happiest when he was off the lead and running about.