Family faces £7,000 vets bill for dog's lifesaving surgery

Ema Kaye, from Rodbourne Cheney, was hit with a £7,000 bill when her eight-year-old Spaniel Bebe was suddenly unable to walk or lift her head up last week.

They were told Bebe would need surgery for a slipped disc at the top of her spine and have already paid for medication to keep her stable.

Unable to pay thousands of pounds upfront, the family has set up a GoFundMe as a "last resort".

Bebe the Spaniel (Image: Ema Kaye)

Ema said: “She’s a very loving Spaniel. She was my first and I went on to get more, I’ve got loads which I’ll wrap up in cotton wool now I think. My son Kye, who is 22, set up the GoFundMe and she’s his favourite dog. Bebe loves him and it’s been hard on us all, but especially Kye.

“It’s ridiculous money, they want £2,000 just for an MRI. We need to raise the money as soon as possible. The vet said if the medication she’s on doesn’t work, they need to give her the operation.

“At the moment the medication is just suppressing how she’s feeling, so she’ll have a good couple of hours while she’s in her crate and then she goes back to being really arched and having a stiff neck and can’t move. She just whimpers in her cage. It’s not fair for a usually very active dog.

“I had my dogs and horses insured but my husband used to rent out taxis and everyone handed their taxis back when Covid hit, so money got short and I cancelled my policies. Now I regret it.

“They won’t set up a payment plan, it looks like I’ll have to set up some sort of credit card but I’m not sure because I’m not earning and only get disability allowance, so I don’t think I’ll even be able to get a credit card. I have spinal stenosis at the bottom of my spine, so I can hardly walk myself, and I’m not able to do any fundraising activities.

“I don’t know what they expect us to do, you would have thought they would have some sort of payment plan.”

Kye's GoFundMe page reads: “She is our best friend and it’s killing us seeing her in pain every day”.