A desperate family is trying to fly a dog and its two last surviving pups over to the UK after it gave birth beneath their balcony on holiday.
Rebecca Giles, 36, had been to their family apartment in Southern Italy when a 'trusting and gentle' Mongrel birthed five puppies just outside their door, October 19.
Sadly, three of the pups died within minutes.
Scrambling to find somewhere for the rest to be cared for, Rebecca and her Auntie Angela, from Hyde, gave them to a local farm to be looked after temporarily.
But this is costing them £70 a day, with vaccination bills also mounting up.
Angela Casale, 66, says the family 'could not just let her go' and decided to name the dog Lady.
They are getting frequent updates from the farm, in a Calabria village, but are frantically trying to bring the trio home to the UK.
Angela said: "There are so many stray dogs in Southern Italy and the culture around pets is completely different to over here.
"They just aren't looked after and rely on scraps to survive.
"This little dog had been coming around the property and my niece Rebecca had been feeding her every day because she was pregnant and worried about her.
"One morning, they heard shouting, and she saw that she was having pups outside, right beneath the balcony.
"She is such a sweet gentle dog and had obviously started to trust my niece because she felt safe enough to give birth there."
Rebecca began knocking on the doors of local people, trying to find Lady and her two last surviving babies a home.
But nobody was interested.
Angela then suggested trying to raise funds to get them flown over to the UK - but this will come at a cost of more than £2,000.
"We just couldn't leave them all there, they would not have survived for very long," Angela said.
"There was only one main road throughout the village and we just knew the best thing to do was try and bring them back to the UK."
Angela is now waiting for the dogs to be given their vaccinations - but this has proved more difficult since leaving the EU.
She is glad they are being given shelter, but says she is eager to get them British passports as soon as possible.
They have been told it may not be until January that niece Rebecca can fly over to Italy to get them.
The dog-lover, who already owns three labradors, added: "This has just been so difficult and stressful.
"I have been on the phone constantly looking for help and trying to get their paperwork sorted.
"There is such a worry because even though they have shelter and food and are safe, we aren't there looking after them ourselves.
"People have asked us why we are getting involved when there are so many strays. We know we won't change everything, but for her and her pups, the world will be changed if we take them in."
The family have set up a Go Fund Me page and are asking for help to fund the flights and vaccinations.
