by Graham Tutthill
gtutthill@thekmgroup.co.uk

A couple are appealing for help in raising money for an operation to save the life of a rescue puppy.

Rita and John Farenden have taken in many rescue dogs over the years, and have always met the vets’ bills whenever treatment is needed.

But three-month-old Yorkshire terrier Molly has a serious defect with a valve in her heart, and the operation, treatment and aftercare is likely to cost around £5,500.

“She’s a sweet little puppy,” said Mrs Farenden, who lives at Tower Hamlets. “When we got her we took her to the vets, as usual, for a check, and they found a heart murmur. That’s not unusual as several puppies have this.

“But it seemed more serious than some so we were referred to a heart specialist and he said there was a problem with one of the valves.

“Open-heart surgery is too risky for a puppy this young, so they do another operation which involves inserting a coil through her groin to the heart, similar to an angiogram in a human.

“We are both pensioners so we can’t afford a lump sum like this, so we launched an appeal. We have already had quite a good response, but the operation needs to be done as soon as possible.”

Collection boxes are in Macari’s cafe in Pencester Road and the pet shop in Worthington Street, and a special account has been set up at HSBC in Dover which people can pay money into. It’s called Molly The Yorkie’s Heart Fund, the sort code is 40-19-23 and the account number is 31524807.

“We would be grateful for any help anyone can give us,” said Mrs Farenden.

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