A STRAY dog that was left for dead following a road accident is helping a County Durham vets to treat other stricken animals.
Molly, a three-year-old Lurcher, was nursed back to health by staff at Prince Bishop Veterinary Hospital after she was carried into the surgery in Leadgate, Consett, by a police officer, following an accident.
She needed extensive surgery for a fractured hind leg, cuts and lacerations– and she also lost a litter of puppies she was carrying through all the trauma of the accident.
Thanks to the kindness and skill of vets and nurses, Molly, now three, made a full recovery after the accident two years ago, and now has a loving home with veterinary nurse Sarah Mawson after unsuccessful appeals to find her owner.
Molly’s story is now helping to highlight Prince Bishop Vets’ new Stray Fund so the practice can continue to help to treat animals in desperate need.
She is among dozens of sick, injured, lost and abandoned dogs, cats, hedgehogs, bats, rabbits and other wildlife brought into Prince Bishop Vets’ surgeries in Leadgate and Crook for emergency treatment every year – and no animal is ever turned away.
Now the practice is launching a Stray Fund to meet the cost of treatment, and collecting tins will be placed on the reception counter at both surgeries, while anyone reunited with their lost pet or adopting a stray will also be invited to make a donation.
Veterinary Nursing Assistant Kieran Mennell, who came up with the idea for the Stray Fund, said: “We have a lot of lost and stray pets and sick or injured wildlife handed in every year, and Molly is sadly typical of some of the cases we see.
“We get a lot of cats and dogs, which have either been lost or abandoned, that are handed in by members of the public. We try to trace their owners but, unfortunately, not every animal has a home to go back to.
“Owners who are reunited with a lost pet will often offer the practice a donation towards the care they received, which gave us the idea for setting up a Stray Fund, so we are able to treat those animals in need when they come through our doors.”
Other stray pets that have been helped by Prince Bishop Vets include Oliver, a kitten, handed in at the practice.
After initially being fostered by a member of staff and given flea and worm treatment, Oliver was handed over to the Blue Cross and has been rehomed by Francesca Carr and daughters, Naomi, 13, Martha, 10, and eight-year-old Eliza, from Stanley.
Ms Carr said: “Oliver is a very welcome and very lively addition to our family, and it’s wonderful that we have been able to rehome a stray kitten.
“The Stray Fund sounds like a great idea to help cats like him, which are handed in.”
For media enquiries, please contact Amanda Little, VetPartners Head of PR and Communications, on 0191 300 1181 or email amanda.little@vetpartners.co.uk