An adorable rescue puppy with a hole in his heart is desperate for urgent surgery to save his life.
Romeo hasn't even had a chance to experience love or find his own family, and he already faces the high possibility of dying young.
South East Dog Rescue (SEDR) has labelled him the charity's "biggest fundraising challenge" to date, as he needs to raise £4,000 in just one week to mend his 'broken heart'.
Kymm White, founder of SEDR, knew it would be "extremely expensive and potentially heartbreaking" to take on the stray pup - but she refused to let him down like his previous owners.
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Kymm told The Mirror : "I had to spend some time thinking carefully about whether we could realistically take on another welfare case, bringing us a huge vet bill when, like all other rescues, we are already on our knees.
"But my heart rather than my head made the decision - I just knew we had to try to help him and give him the best chance of survival."
When stray puppy Romeo was picked up off the streets, vets were concerned about his heart beating extremely fast and hard in his chest.
Medics suspected he had severe heart condition known as patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) - an opening between the two major blood vessels leading from the heart.
If left untreated, approximately half of dogs with PDA die of heart failure in the first year of their life.
SEDR were approached to take in Romeo - and despite knowing surgery would be specialist and risky, Kymm couldn't say no.
She referred Romeo to the Royal Vet College, where a cardiologist took a scan of his heart.
"Sadly the news is worse than we thought," Kymm said. "Not only does he have PDA, he also has aortic stenosis - one of the most common and serious valve disease problems."
Aortic stenosis restricts the blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta and may also affect the pressure in the left atrium.
Together with PDA, this makes Romeo not only more critical, but also more at risk during surgery.
"But without surgery, he will die," Kymm explained.
The dog charity needs to fundraise approximately £4,000 for his surgery - following the initial heart scan which cost £886 - to fix the hole in his heart.
Kymm hopes the kindness and generosity of strangers will save Romeo's life.
She said: "He is just a puppy, still with baby teeth. He is happy and bouncy and has no idea how poorly he is.
"He wants to run and play but tires very easily due to his condition."
To donate to Romeo's fundraiser, follow this website link to South East Dog Rescue for PayPal and bank transfer details.
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