A couple have been given devastating news just two days after buying a puppy. Raf Cieslicki and his partner Daria Cieslicka, from Southport, Merseyside were told by the vet that their 11-week-old cockapoo Bella would need live-saving surgery.
Raf and Daria need to raise £3,000 in a week to fund Bella's surgery after she was diagnosed with patent ductus arteriosus (PDA). PDA is a hole in the artery that fails to close after birth and if left untreated can prove fatal.
The vet wants Bella to go under the knife within a week to give her the best possible chance of survival. Her operation is scheduled for Thursday, March 24.
Finding the advert online for Bella, the couple were assured the puppy had undergone standard health checks, but two days after collecting the puppy they took her for a check-up where they were told the heart-breaking news, reports the Liverpool Echo.
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."
The family plan on taking out a loan if they are unable to raise the money. Daria told of how their five-year-old daughter, Kornelia had fallen in love with Bella.
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."
Bella is set to have her operation on Thursday, March 24. For more information or to donate, click here.
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