A mum had to tell her sons Christmas was cancelled so the family could afford to pay the £8,000 vet bills to save the life of their beloved pet dog.
Staffordshire Bull Terrier Buddy started limping when he jumped over a fence to see their neighbour and a vet later said it may be arthritis.
But when Buddy stopped putting any weight on the limb Joely Eaton again took him to see the specialist who later called with the sad news Buddy had a bone tumour.
Unwilling to put him to sleep, the 29-year-old decided her family would go without this Christmas to pay for his treatment.
As a result little Ollie, seven, and Jaeden, ten, will be opening a few inexpensive gifts on December 25.
Joely said: “The vet told me the worst case scenario can be a bone tumour, but of course I didn't think it was.
"Then he rang me just as I was getting ready to get the boys from school and just said 'It's not good news, it's a bone tumour.'
"He didn't even bring him round from the sedation, he asked me if I wanted to put him to sleep now and said that, if not, I would have about two weeks with him.
"I was just like 'no'. The boys couldn't come with me to drop the dog off and then not pick him up. I told him I would come and bring him home.”
A specialist recommended Buddy undergo a costly operation to amputate the cancerous leg, plus six rounds of gruelling chemotherapy - at almost £700 a pop.
She said he is recovering well from surgery to remove the leg and is up to his old tricks with Spencer, even though vets said the chemo might make him poorly.
The bill came to £4,299 which included a CT scan and the surgery, plus each round of chemo will cost £669.68.
Despite the outlay Buddy may only live another 18 months.
Joely said: "I just told them to do it, I don't care. As long as he is with us, I don't care.
"I just said to the boys Christmas is not going to be as good as it is every other year.
"I'm kind of relying on everyone else, which feels really nasty but my mum will give them money and my grandparents will go all-out."
Joely has agreed to skip gift-giving this year with her siblings and boyfriend, and even had to ask her grandad to give her her Christmas money early.
Her family members have also organised a GoFundMe which has raised nearly £4,000.
She added: "I really hate asking for help, but this is just reality at the moment for us.
"With the whole cost of living crisis, a vet bill to pay as well as his chemo to pay on top of that - and it is Christmas.
"The boys took it well. My seven-year-old had his birthday recently so he's not really bothered about Christmas, he's one of those dead easy, relaxed kids.
"I just said to them 'we've got Buddy, and that's all that matters this Christmas'.
"And Jaeden is so close with Buddy, I think he just doesn't care."
