A fundraiser has been launched to help a Glasgow family with their vet bills, after they adopted a dog from the SSPCA earlier this year.
Tide, a chocolate lab, was diagnosed with Addison’s disease - and now requires steroid injections every four to six weeks. The lifelong condition is manageable, though vet bills are piling up for the family.
Margaret Haggerty, who adopted Tide, has drained her savings already hoping to help the dog's condition. The pup was rescued by the SSPCA after being severely abused for an estimated four years, and has found a happy home with her new family despite her health.
READ MORE - Glasgow dog owner's agony as pet rushed to vets after eating rat poison in a Broomhill park
Victoria Brough, Margaret’s daughter, spoke to Glasgow Live after launching the fundraiser. She said: “At one point the vet did think her chances of survival were pretty low.
“We got her two or three months ago from the SSPCA, she had been in kennels for two years before that. The guy that owned her before was really bad to her, and while the court case was ongoing she had to be kept in the kennels.
“About a month ago, we noticed a difference in her. We’d only had her a few weeks and thought maybe she was just settling in.
“We soon realised something was definitely wrong. She started to go off her food, lethargic, urinating a lot more than usual and drinking lots more water than usual.
“Took her to the vet and they initially thought she had a bug. Gave her an anti-sickness jag and an electrolyte replacement type drink.
“We didn't take her to the vet the following day as we thought she would just recover at home if it was a bug. I got an emergency app with the vet after her temperature dropped pretty low and she collapsed.
“We took her to the local vet at 12pm, they advised if we took her even one hour later she wouldn't of made it. The next few days consisted of her going to the vets during the day and vet hospital at night.
“Her potassium level in her blood was at an unreadable level and was dangerously high.
“Every time we visit the vets it's three or four hundred pounds. Once they’ve got it under control it should be about £100, but we’ve spent a lot already.
“I did contact the SSPCA to see if they could help us with the vet bills and they said if we brought her back they could euthanise her, which is obviously not an option.”
In her new home, Tide has gone from strength to strength and her new family have seen her confidence grow. Despite a difficult past, Victoria told us the dog has a loving and happy nature.
If you’d like to help out with Tide’s vet bills, you can donate online here. Any money raised will be put to her vet bills, while any left over will be donated to an animal charity.
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