Bailey needs an operation

Hi, my name is Clare and I'm fundraising for my dog Bailey.

I adopted Bailey from Czech republic when she was 5 months old. She’s about 4 and half years now. I don’t know very much about her life before, but I have the impression that her mother was rescued when she was expecting puppies and the people who looked after her were worried that people would harm the puppies if they were re-homed. I have the impression that all their animals were all kept in a barn. In any event, Bailey had not been socialised and was very scared to eat and to go outside.

I didn’t know the first thing about rescue dogs, so I just did my best. She has always been very timid, and when she first came to live with us she was terrified to walk down the street, literally scared of the sky, scared of any noise. She is a lot better now, but is easily panicked. She is scared of other dogs, of loud noises and if something changes in a familiar environment. She loves having a family and if we every get separated in the park I will always find her back at home, waiting outside the door. I only let her off the lead for the last sprint home on our street because she is so easily spooked.

Something I find unusual about Bailey is that she loves to be cuddled. She is very happy to crawl under a blanket with just her nose visible. These behaviours seem to be reassuring for her.

In February we noticed that one of her eyes had become more reflective so I took her to the vet. She sent us to the Veterinary Ophthalmologist. It seems like Bailey has had a detached retina since before we adopted her, and now she has a cataract as a result. She is not in any pain, but the Ophthalmologist recommends that we have her eye removed because there is another condition which could develop which would be very painful for her.

“Both cataracts and retinal detachment will result in uveitis which over time may result in secondary glaucoma. If this occurs, Bailey may require removal of the eye for welfare reasons but currently there is no evidence of this.  “

This is going to cost and estimated 2,007.75 for the operation and £115.00 to have the eye sent for histology tests to make sure there aren’t any more serious underlying issues.

I am told it is a simple operation and that it has a quick recovery time. She won’t need to adjust in terms of her sight because she is already blind in that eye and seems to be adjusted, although it probably hasn’t helped with her confidence.

I don’t have pet insurance. Obviously I regret this now, but in the past I was always able to afford my pets veterinary care. I currently work freelance, which is a situation of variable income and tax bills. This expense has fallen on me at an especially tight time financially, and I just don’t have £2,000+ although I have started saving.

I am hoping to raise enough money to get her operation done before her condition worsens. I will keep you all posted, but any amount will help and hopefully if I get enough work this year I will be able to close this page early and go ahead with the operation.

Thanks for reading this