A woman has been forced to sell her belongings online to try and save her poorly pug that has a mystery illness.
Dog owner Nikki Sargent, 53, from Croydon, London, is struggling to pay the ever-growing costs of Monty’s treatment.
The seven-year-old “cheeky” pug suffers from a liver shunt and blocked intestines, which has cost approximately £65,000 in vet bills over his lifetime.
At the start of the year, Nikki set up a Vinted account to flog “anything” she could find - but she “can’t sell quick enough to keep up with Monty’s costs”.
“I’m desperate to find out what’s wrong with Monty and get him well again,” Nikki said.
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In January 2015, Nikki and her husband George welcomed pug Monty into their home.
The puppy was unwell from the get-go, after being born with a liver shunt, and “nearly died at five months old”.
The condition means that Monty's blood was bypassing his liver, which means toxins weren’t filtered out, and nutrients were not absorbed.
Nikki, who is in a wheelchair and suffers from autoimmune diseases, says: “We kind of saved each other”.
Support dog Monty had two major operations in the first two years of his life and has been up and down ever since.
In January, he started throwing up and behaving differently, causing Nikki to become extremely worried.
While it seems his liver shunt is behaving itself, abnormal blood tests have confirmed there is something wrong with the pug.
“We don’t know what it is,” Nikki said.
Monty is currently on antibiotics for colitis and will need to undergo a biopsy of his intestines before taking any further steps.
Nikki pays for premium pet insurance, which does help to cover a large chunk of his treatment - though it is never enough, with his regular check-ups costing £500.
Two months ago, Nikki set up a Vinted account to flog her belongings online and keeps the money aside to cover Monty’s vet bills.
She’s managed to raise £200 so far and has also set up a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising some more.
The family has struggled financially over the years and even lost their house a while ago.
“Money does worry me,” Nikki said as her husband George previously suffered a stroke in 2017 and is unable to work.
Monty is currently “quieter than usual” and has stopped playing his favourite game of tug of war.
“It’s really sad,” Nikki added.
With kind donations from friends and strangers, Nikki has managed to pay the first £980 vet bill and thanked those who donated to the fund.
But despite the uncertainty of Monty’s future, she remains positive and describes him as a “strong” dog with a “will to live”.
If you would like to help Nikki, you can donate to Monty’s GoFundMe here.
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