A miniature dachshund underwent a life saving op to help him walk again – after £4,500 was raised for the pooch in just 36 hours.
Sausage dog Peanut, aged five, had to have surgery on his back after vets discovered he had Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) – a spinal disease which left him paralysed.
Owner Tricia Young, 55, rescued Peanut last year, but couldn’t get him insured as he’d already been rehomed four times in his short life.
The little pooch underwent decompressive surgery last month, which involved having his spinal discs ‘shaved’ and left him with 13 staples in his back.
Peanut is now on the mend, although he still can’t exercise.
But devoted owner Tricia has resorted to pushing him around in a special doggy pram so he can still get out and about.
Tricia, from Prestwick, South Ayrshire, said: “Peanut was absolutely fine one day and then the next he couldn’t move his back legs.
“I took him straight to the vets and they said he had Intervertebral Disc Disease.
“They said he would need to have his discs shaved because they were in a really bad way.
“After he was diagnosed we were able to get the surgery very quickly, in the next five days because we raised the money so fast.
“The community really pulled together to raise the money because everyone knows him and his history.”
Tricia was so desperate to get help for Peanut she even contemplated selling her car after vets told her the surgery would be life-saving.
But kindhearted locals manage to raise the money for the op in less than two days, with one donating enough money to buy Peanut a special pram so he could still get outside.
Tricia, who also has two lhasa apsos, said: “He has been rehomed four times already, I got him last year from my friend’s daughter.
“She was working and he has really bad separation anxiety so I said I could take him because I already have two other dogs.
“The first owner hated him and battered him.
“He was a wee soul when my friend’s daughter got him, she felt he had been badly abused.
“We had been working on his separation anxiety, but since he’s been back home after the vets it’s gotten worse.
“He’s on the mend but still on limited exercise so I just take him everywhere with me in a pram and he’s happy with it.”