A Potters Bar pet owner is looking for the community’s support to help with her sick puppy’s operation for a rare condition.
Polly, a four-month-old female Chihuahua, has a rare condition called Blue Baby, which causes her blood to thicken and not allow enough oxygen for her to breathe.
The puppy’s condition is so rare that only one doctor in the UK can perform the operation to fix her, but it costs £10,000.
Polly’s owner, Hayley Faulkner, saw signs of weakness in the dog when she started to get tired just from running from one end of the sofa to the other.
She did not realise the puppy had these issues when she bought her a few months ago, as there were no signs at the time.
Hayley said: “When she started playing and breathing funny or almost gasping for air we took her to the vets and were told she had a heart condition, and we were referred somewhere else, and they said she had a fatal condition that only one doctor in the UK could solve.”
The pet insurance company also told Hayley that as Polly’s condition started at birth, they will not be able to help with the costs of the operation.
Hayley added that 15 per cent of Polly’s blood has been drawn out – and if her blood count were to go back up to 71 by Thursday, January 19, then Polly will be suffering and will have to be put down.
In order to help Polly get better and ultimately save her life, Hayley hopes to raise enough money for the operation, rather than having to see Polly in pain and euthanised.
Hayley said: “I don’t think we will get £10,000 by then but I have to try all the options. I am devastated, I can’t even express how I feel. I feel so helpless that I can’t even help her.”
In hopes of getting enough money to pay for the surgery by mid-January, Hayley has set up a GoFundMe page.
To donate go to https://gofund.me/a00749a6
