A couple were told that their new puppy needs a life-saving £3,000 operation - just two days after buying her.
Raf and Daria Cieslicka were given the devastating news within 48 hours of buying 11-week-old cockapoo puppy Bella.
The pair, from Southport, Merseyside, now have to raise £3,000 in a week to save her life after she was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).
The defect can be deadly if left untreated and consists of a hole in an artery that fails to close after birth.
Vets requested that Bella go under the knife within a week for her to have any chance of survival, due to her condition being previously undiagnosed.
Her operation is scheduled for March 24.
Raf and Daria, originally from Poland, saw Bella advertised online and were reassured that the puppy had undergone standard health checks.
Two days after collecting the pup, they took her to the vets for a check-up and were told the heartbreaking news that she would need urgent surgery.
Daria, 31, said: "Three weeks ago, on February 28, we bought the dog off this private seller.
"We were told she's had health checks and that she was brilliant so we believed them and bought her. After two days we took her to the vet who checked her.
"She said she needed a scan. So we booked the scan for the following week and the scan found that she had PDA which means she has a hole in an artery.
"She now needs an operation to close the hole. After this, we hope she'll be fine but we can't get anyone to insure her because she has a pre-existing health condition.
"When we rang the seller and they denied selling her to us. After we said they did, the person just said it was their dad and that he would ring us.
"Since then we haven't heard from them and they won't answer the phone.
"We were hoping they would pay for the operation because if we gave her back they would probably kill her since she wouldn't earn them any money."
If the family do not manage to raise the money, they plan on taking out a loan to fund the operation.
Daria also explained that since they got Bella, their five-year-old daughter, Kornelia, has fallen in love with her.
She said: "We've only had her three weeks but we love her.
"We also have a five-year-old and she said to me: 'Mum, please don't give her to the angels. I'll give you all my money out of my piggy bank'.
"She is melting my heart."
A fundraiser has been launched to help cover the cost of Bella's operation.
To donate, visit her Just Giving page here.
