Hi everyone with tears streaming down my face, I’m reaching out in desperation for my best friend in the whole world. This is Dog, my sweet, quirky Border Collie (or Border Collie mix) with the one funny ear that always stands up, the softest fur, and the biggest, most loving heart.

When I was just a young child in Portugal, my world completely shattered after the sudden death of my beloved father. The pain was unbearable for our family. Then my mom, in her infinite love and strength, surprised me with a tiny puppy and placed him gently in my arms. I named him Dog simple and pure, straight from my grieving little heart. From that very first day, he didn’t just become my pet… he became my everything. My best friend. My comfort on the loneliest nights. My reason to smile when I thought I never could again. He licked away my tears, curled up beside me when grief felt too heavy, and filled our home with joy, zoomies, and unconditional love that slowly helped heal my broken heart. Dog has been my constant through every chapter of life. He has seen me grow up, celebrated my happy moments, and stayed loyally by my side during the hard ones. He is not “just a dog” he is family. He is my soulmate in fur. He is the living proof that love can survive even the deepest loss.

Now, my precious best friend is suffering terribly, and it is tearing me apart inside.

Recently, Dog started showing terrifying signs of back pain and losing mobility. After heartbreaking vet visits and tests, the diagnosis hit us like a punch to the gut: Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) a severe spinal condition where one of his discs has herniated and is crushing his spinal cord. Without urgent surgery (a decompression procedure called a hemilaminectomy), he could face permanent paralysis. Watching him struggle to move, seeing the pain in his eyes where there used to be only sparkle and mischief… I can barely breathe through the tears. My best friend, who has carried me through my darkest days after losing my father, now needs me to carry him and I feel so helpless. The vets say surgery gives him the best chance to walk, run, and be his happy, bouncy self again the Dog who has brought me so much healing and light. But this is a major, life-changing operation. It requires advanced MRI or CT imaging, specialist neurosurgery, anesthesia, hospitalization, intensive pain management, and weeks of careful rehabilitation afterward.

The estimated cost is £8,000 – £15,000 or more, and with everything included, it could climb even higher. Our family doesn’t have a lot of money we never really have and after everything we’ve already been through with the loss of my father, this feels completely overwhelming and crushing. I would give anything, anything at all, to take away his pain, but we simply cannot afford this surgery on our own. I am begging, from the deepest part of my shattered heart, for your help to save my best friend. Dog deserves to feel joy and freedom again. He deserves to keep living the life full of love that he has given me since I was a grieving child in Portugal. He saved me once… now I desperately need to save him.

Any donation even £5, £10, or just sharing this page with someone who might care could be the difference between Dog walking again or losing the ability to run and play forever. Your kindness would mean more than words can ever express to our struggling family.

Please… help me give my best friend a second chance at the happiness he has always brought to me. Thank you, with every tear and every beat of my grateful heart,

The little boy from Portugal who still needs her Dog ❤️