Hi everyone,

This is Lily, a 12 year old cocker spaniel and my absolute world. I rescued her four years ago after she spent the first eight years of her life used for breeding. She rarely left the walls of her kennel and never got to experience the love or freedom every dog deserves.

When I first brought Lily home, she was terrified of life. Doorways, televisions, humans.. everything worried her. It took months of patience and love, but slowly she began to trust and realise that the world isn’t such a scary place. Now, she loves nothing more than walks in the woods with her favourite humans. Over the past few years, we’ve made it our mission to visit every major forest in the UK to make up for lost time and we finally completed the last one in September.

You can follow her story on Instagram @life_begins_at_8

Unfortunately, Lily’s health has been an ongoing challenge. She’s already overcome mammary cancer, which she’s thankfully all clear of now, and has had chronic ear issues for years. Then, in October, she suddenly became very unwell. I’ve spent thousands on tests trying to get to the bottom of it, and while she’s on the mend we still don't know what the underlying cause was.

Unrelated though, Tests did reveal that she now needs a heart scan after detecting her heart murmur has progressed from grade 2 to grade 3 and she has some symptoms that could be linked.

Because she had the murmur when I first rescued her, the insurance company classes this as a pre-existing condition, meaning none of the tests or treatment are covered. I’ve already paid for several rounds of investigations, but this next scan and any treatment that follows are more than I can afford right now ☹️. The estimated cost of a scan is around £800

I never imagined I’d be in the position of needing to ask for help and I've tried to avoid it. I work fulltime, she’s insured, and I’ve always done everything I can to give her the best life, but her last round of tests have left me super short and my friend has convinced me to set up this page.

Lily has been through so much in her life and yet she still wags her tail every morning, still trusts, and still loves. She truly deserves the best chance at more happy, comfortable years ahead.

If you can spare even a small amount to help cover her heart scan and follow up care, it would mean the world to both of us. And if you can’t donate, sharing her story would be a huge help too.

Thank you so much for reading and for caring about Lily

Lots of love

Jo and Lily