Melton woman's appeal after surgery saves her dog's life

Hayley Short, who is a teaching assistant at the town’s St Mary’s Primary School, was distraught to find Mila collapsed at the family home early last Tuesday morning.

The dog, which Hayley took in as a rescue dog from Bosnia three years ago, had suffered a slipped disc while playing which left her unable to use her back legs.

Mila was rushed to Melton’s King’s Veterinary Centre in King’s Road and nerve damage was diagnosed halfway down her spine.

A specialist was urgently needed so Hayley and her husband took her over to Willows in Solihull where it was revealed that the disc was pushing against her spine and she needed immediate surgery.

The couple had discovered that they were no longer covered by pet insurance because monthly payments had not rolled over from November like they usually had.

They were devastated to be told it would cost £7,500 to carry out the operation to save Mila’s life.

Hayley told the Melton Times: “I knew I would have to find the money as there was no way in my heart and my head that I could leave her like this and putting her down was never going to be an option, she means too much to me.

"The vets wanted half up front to go ahead and I just cried, we don’t have that sort of money.”

They negotiated an upfront payment of £1,000 to enable the surgery to go ahead with Hayley borrowing the money from her mum.

She launched an online fundraising page to help her pay the full operation costs and around £1,000 has already been raised.

The good news is that Mila has got good movement in her back legs although she can only walk with a support sling and must rest in a cage as she recovers.

“She is recovering really well and seems to be getting stronger every day,” said Hayley.

“She does spend most of her time in the cage, except when I’m sat down and then she is snuggled on my knee.”

Mïla was rescued from a ‘kill shelter’ in Bosnia in December 2020 by a UK charity called Adoptapaws.

Hayley came across them by chance on Facebook during lockdown.

She was looking to adopt another dog she had seen on there but it died during an operation.

Hayley recalled: “A few months later I saw the pictures of Mïla, whom the charity had called Flo.

"She looked so sad and scared, had such sad eyes, I applied for her straight away and got accepted.”

She said ‘Mïla is the most loving, cuddly dog’ and that she had helped her cope with being bedridden with her own severe lower back pain: "From the moment I got her in my arms in March 2021 she was my little shadow, she cuddled up to me in the car all the way home.”

Click HERE if you would like to help pay Mila’s vet’s bill.