A dog owner has been left £5,000 out of pocket – after saving his beloved pet’s life. Ashley Swift has been slapped with the bill after Caucasian Mountain Shepherd Bella collapsed in the early hours of Friday.
The dog was diagnosed with a twisted stomach and a ruptured spleen and faced being put down without emergency surgery. Now the 29-year-old delivery driver, from Biddulph, has launched an online appeal for financial assistance after his insurer refused to pay out.
Ashley said: “It was horrible – I have had her since she was six weeks old. I’ve spent every day with her. It was traumatic and the most horrible experience I have ever had.”
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Ashley rushed Bella to the emergency vets and she underwent the emergency surgery.
He added: “It broke my heart. I can go to work every day to earn money – I can’t get another Bella. It’s one of the things I have feared every day since I got her. I researched the breed for three years.”
Ashley has launched the GoFundMe online appeal as he faces having to pay up by July 16.
He added: “This is my last resort – we are quite a proud family. At the time, I didn’t know what to do. I’d pay anything for her. But I haven’t got that sort of money lying around. She had a four-hour operation. They saved her life.”
The insurer has refused to pay out after five-year-old Bella underwent an operation in March following an issue with a mammogram.
Ashley added: “I don’t want anybody knocking on the door about repossession. It’s quite outrageous that it was that much. If I have to work constantly for the next three or four years, at least I’ve still got my dog.”
To support the online appeal click here.
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