Alfie's surgery

Hello, we are raising funds for our dog Alfie, to help cover the costs of his surgery and care. We bought Alfie as an assistance dog in training for our daughter's anxiety from Supporting Paws CIC following recommendation.

However, 6-8 weeks after buying Alfie, he was diagnosed with bilateral hip dysplasia on both hips, which was not caused by injury but rather congenital and or hereditary. When Alfie was diagnosed, we were told that he could not be an assistance dog. Alfie is in constant pain and as such, this restricts his and our activities. At the moment his pain is being managed with medication.

As Alfie is our first dog, we were unsure what Alfie needed. We asked questions about his health prior to purchasing Alfie and overall trusted the organisation, because of their work in supporting young people with various disabilities, and needs, by providing assistance dogs. The directors (Charlotte Chaney and Kate Body) did not at any point disclose the risk of hip dysplasia for labradors even though Supporting Paws provides specifically labradors. They have also failed to provide hip scores and or Alfie's vet records, even after multiple requests after his diagnosis; denied any responsibility for Alfie's diagnosis and have claimed that he was bought as a pet and not for the purposes of being an assistance dog. Since, the initial response no one from Supporting Paws has responded to our requests.

Currently, Alfie needs 24 hr supervision, and his exercise is extremely limited. We are unable to go out for an afternoon with him, let alone a whole day out. He is already on permanent daily pain medication and is prone to flare-ups. As you can imagine, this has had a significant impact on our family, particularly my daughter, who thought she would be getting a dog that could assist her needs.

The only way to permanently relieve Alfie's pain and improve his quality of life is to undergo surgery and care for both of his hips. We have sought legal advice, however, both directors have resigned leaving no directors at the company, Supporting Paws.

Being left with little to no option, we are asking if you could please donate, to help us with the costs to help Alfie.

We have been told that Alfie needs to have hip surgery as soon as possible. He will also have to undergo physio and hydrotherapy 2x month before, and after surgery, as well as aftercare, which will cost us an excess of £25,000.

These donations would go a long way to help our beloved Alfie and, in supporting our daughter.

Thank you for your time and donations!