A fundraiser has been launched for surgery to save a French bulldog pup with a rare life-threatening genital disorder.
Tiny Lola was given just 48 hours to live when she was born in January, weighing in at 1.47kg before being brought to health by vets.
But her owner, nurse Lesleyann McKeown, tells how the puppy has spent much of her short life since in pain and is socially withdrawn due to recurrent infections – with vets warning she must be euthanised if she cannot undergo the necessary reconstructive surgery.
Lola has a swollen vulva, an abnormally small anus and suffers from constipation due to problems with her digestive system. She will never be able to have puppies.
While her brother Oscar found a new home, couple Lesleyann and Jordan have decided to keep the pooch along with her parents Luna and Louie and are determined to give her a better life.
Lesleyann, 35, tells Glasgow Live : "She is so prone to infection and she goes to the toilet a lot, struggling and straining every time she does the toilet. We have to clean her each time afterwards to make sure she doesn't get infected again. It's exhausting.
"She just sits in your lap and acts very withdrawn, needing cuddles. She cannot play the way her brother does. It's heartbreaking."
Working at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, the nurse has been juggling 12-hour night shifts with looking after Lola and takes on overtime when her partner Jordan is off to afford the veterinary costs, which have already run into hundreds of pounds.
The procedure will take place at the University of Glasgow's Veterinary School and will cost more than £2500.
"I'm feeling stressed and sleep-deprived with it all," Lesleyann said. "I'm working through the pandemic on covid and emergency wards and it's hard work. We're getting up every couple of hours through the night to take Lola to the toilet. But I look at her wee face and it is all worth it.
"We know some people who see the fundraiser might say 'it's just a dog', but she's part of our family. We don't want to have her put down – we brought her into the world and we will spend what we can to save her. We want her to live a normal, pain free life."
£920 of £3000 has been raised so far. You can donate on GoFundMe.
