Neville's troublesome testicle surgery.

Hi, my name is Penny and I'm fundraising for my nephew's dog, Neville, who is nearly 4 months old.

A couple of months ago my nephew went downstairs one morning and found his canine bestie, a 4 year old french bulldog, Apollo, with body paralysis. He called his employer to inform them of his absence and rushed him straight to the vets. The vets said that he had IVDD (a degenerative spine condition) and the prognosis was extremely poor. My nephew was, understandably, devastated when he had to have him euthanised.

He was missing him terribly, so to help heal his heart he got the little cutie in the picture, Neville, a boxer. Nev isn't even 4 months old yet, He has already formed a heartwarming, unbreakable bond with their baby and they dote on each other. Nev is so loveable, with an exceptional temperament and had settle in well, everything had been absolutely fine since he arrived at his forever home with them.

This was until a few days ago when my nephew called me in a panic and voiced concerns over Nev's behaviour as he wasn't his normal, happy self, showed no interest in eating his dinner and had vomited the ham (he gave him this to tempt him to eat) and his drink of water up.

We rushed him straight to the vets where we were asked if there was a possibility that he could have chewed a toy, sock etc as he was tender around his tummy area. Pups chew and accidents happen, however, my nephew was adamant that Nev had not eaten something that he shouldn't as they watch him very carefully!

The vet also said that Nev was cryptorchid (where only one testicle descends, however this can take up to 6 months to descend).

Nev was sedated for xrays and also had an ultrasound. The vet said that she could feel 'something' in his tummy but was unsure exactly what this was and said that he had a torsion in his intestine, which could possibly be an intussusception (where a part of the intestine folds in on itself - like a telescope). She admitted him, he was placed on IV fluids, painkillers etc and they suggested repeating the xrays a couple of hours later after an enema, however, Nev had other ideas as the sedation was wearing off (they couldn't give him any more) so they were unable to continue.

The vet said that as it could be an intussusception he would need to be transferred to a specialist vets and also need overnight care. We were warned that the costs would likely be a few thousand pounds upwards, however the alternative was not an option, both for Nev and my nephew's well being after losing Apollo so suddenly with no warning.

We then managed to get him into another practice, where they looked at his xrays that were sent through and they suspected that he had actually ingested a foreign object.

He underwent life-saving surgery (Laparotomy) and was subsequently hospitalised for 40 hours with constant care.

On opening him up the vets found Nev's intestine had wrapped around his undescended testicle and caused severe problems.

We collected Nev from the vets today, with his medication to ensure that he is pain free. He has been such a brave boy for a pup and is definitely on the mend, although exhausted after his unfortunate stay at the vets.

My nephew did the sensible thing and insured Nev. His insurance was to commence 14 days prior to the lapse of the free insurance from his breeder (to cover the 14 day exclusion period on new policies for illness).

On checking his insurance, he realised the company had made an error with the inception date, a few days later than he had stated so he is unable to claim for Nev's costs (by a few days). Ironically, if Nev had eaten a random item then he would've been covered by his insurance as this is classed as an accident for which the exclusion period is 2 days from inception (but the surgery is more invasive).

Prior to this, my nephew had been very ill, with frequent trips to A&E and was eventually hospitalised with quinsy, so failed to check/notice they had made this date error.

He started a new job in January so doesn't get sick pay as yet and is only eligible for SSP. My nephew and his wife only welcomed their first child into the world 4 months ago so his wife is still on maternity leave (very reduced pay), so this couldn't have come at a financially worse time, worsened by the insurance company's error.

It is the first time I have set up a go fund me, although we have donated to others numerous times.

As a family, we have already donated as much as we are able to and sold items to contribute to the costs, however, our efforts have fallen significantly short. The funds that are raised will settle Nev's remaining costs.

Considering the cost of living at present, we would be so grateful if you would be able to donate anything at all, not matter how small, however, we do understand if you are unable to contribute but it would also help massively if you could please share for us.

Thanks for reading and thanks on behalf of Nephew & Neville.