Charity 'blown away after £3,400 raised for dog's hip surgery

Thomas first came to Oak Tree Animals’ Charity near Carlisle as his owner could sadly no longer provide the care he needed.

He had clearly been well-loved and quickly settled into his foster home.

His fosterer noticed Thomas occasionally limping even after minimal exercise so after chatting to the vets he was booked in for x-rays and to be assessed by an orthopaedic specialist who diagnosed his hip dysplasia.

Thomas' X-Ray (Image: Oak Tree Animals' Chairity)Hip dysplasia is a condition where the ball and socket of the hip joint develop abnormally leading to the ball not sitting properly within the socket.

In the worst cases, it can lead to severe osteoarthritis or degenerative joint disease and be incredibly painful.

Hip dysplasia is an inherited condition, so breeding must be carefully monitored to reduce the risk of it occurring.

Treatment options vary and initially the team at Oak Tree thought that Thomas may need a full hip replacement but after careful consultation, it was decided that Thomas would need a femoral head excision which costs approximately £900 per hip.

Oak Tree set up a fundraiser to raise the £1,800 needed for the surgery but donations far exceeded that amount and more than £3,400 has now been raised. Any excess amount will be spent on Thomas’ recovery and the rest of the animals in the charity’s care.

“Here at Oak Tree Animals' Charity, we are blown away by how generous everyone has been in supporting Thomas' urgent surgery appeal,” said a spokesperson for Oak Tree.

“Thank you so much to everyone who has read, donated and spread the word - you are amazing.”

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“Together we hit the target of the £1800 surgery, in the first 24 hours but we still continued to see the donations come in.

“We've now more than raised enough to cover the cost of Thomas' surgery and any post-surgery support too - any surplus will go to help Thomas' friends here at Oak Tree.

“Thomas is currently waiting for his surgery and as soon as we have an update to share, we'll let you know. In the meantime, thank you so much for all your help.”