Hello, my name is Marina and I live in the Spanish countryside with my daughter and two dogs Luna and Scruffy and our cat Midnight.

For years, whilst walking our dogs, we have seen the same black and white dog in the valley. Always watching us, always hiding, always absolutely terrified.

We named him Badger because of his colouring and we thought it suited him. We don't believe he ever had an owner. Around here, he would simply be called a "campo dog" like so many stray dogs trying to survive.

About a year ago, he started to show the smallest curiosity to us and our dogs. We spotted him in the garden, but if we so much as looked at him, he would hobble away as fast as he could. Progress was painfully slow!

Three months ago, my daughter began to leave food out for him. Up until we guessed that he'd been surviving on avocados and the leftovers from our dogs bowls.

Little by little, he began to trust her.

Now, he eats when our dogs eat. He is gaining weight. Some days he allows us to gently stroke him. We think we may be his first human friends.

We believe he is about 5 years old.

What has been worrying us over these years, is his front leg that was either dislocated or badly broken. We think he was either hit by a car or worse.

He has adapted remarkably well to life on three legs but we also know he would do much better with proper medical care and relief from pain. We know he deserves this.

Our hope is to get Badger to a vet for a full examination, X rays, necessary vaccinations, possible surgery and on going care. So that he can live a much happier and safer life. In order to do this we need to first buy him a collar and lead and either borrow or buy a dog crate so we can safely take him to the vets in the next town.

If you are able to donate, we would be incredibly grateful, as will this lovely little dog, Badger. His life has already changed simply by being befriended, likely we are the first humans he can trust.

At the time of writing, we don't know the exact amount needed so this is an estimate. We do know that surgery can be very expensive. If we are able to raise the funds and have money leftover, we will donate this to the local dog rescue charity who do amazing work.

Thanking you in advance

Marina, Oaka and Badger

if you would like to follow Badger's recovery story, O has created an Instagram account for him.

@badgersrescuejourney