A woman has issued a plea to dog owners after her beloved puppy caught a deadly virus.
Amy Riley has been trying to raise money to cover hefty vet bills as her dog, Cookie, fights for her life after catching the parvovirus earlier this month.
Amy turned to fellow pet parents in a hopes to fundraise £4,000 to save the poorly six-month-old mixed breed.
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Amy, from Darwen, Lancashire, was taking Cookie on a walk near Ivinson Road or Ash Grove when the pup was believed to have picked up the virus.
She said: "I took her for a walk around the streets where I live.
"She is usually only in my back garden as it is quite a large garden but on this day I took her around the block."
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The 25-year-old has since called the innocent dog walk her 'biggest regret' before adding: "This is the only place she could have picked up the virus."
Cookie reportedly first started exhibiting symptoms the Monday before last (12 June).
Vets believed the pup just had a stomach problem after Cookie went through a few vomiting spells, which were 'out of character' for her.
"The vets said she had gastritis and sold me anti-sickness medication and diarrhoea medication," Amy explained.
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But things only got worse from there when Amy started noticing blood in Cookie's diarrhoea.
She continued: "I took her to be reassessed by the vets, who then said it looked like she had parvovirus and needed to be admitted."
Unfortunately, Amy didn't have enough cash to admit her pooch and was subsequently sent home with just antibiotics.
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Amy said: "The fee was too much money and I just didn’t have it. The vets sold me some antibiotics and told me she would perk up in three days.
"That night she became so weak, barely eating and drinking. She was still losing a lot of blood and was still vomiting."
Two days later (14 June), the vets accepted £100 as a deposit so Cookie could receive life-saving treatment until Amy could come up with the remaining funds at a later date.
Amy has since said Cookie is still 'very poorly' and while she's on a few different medications, she 'isn’t responding to it so far'.
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She added: "She is still vomiting and bleeding and currently has a feeding tube.
"If you have a dog you know they become family. Myself and my four-year-old child just want her home.
"I will never forget this experience and the guilt I hold inside me knowing I took her on that walk that has left her in critical condition."
Amy spent a mammoth £1,000 on vet bills, disclosing: "I have used all my monthly money and now I have none left.
"I am worried about where I can get the rest of the money from in order to continue her treatment.
"If there is anyone out there that can donate anything, no matter how small, it will help."
Amy has since raised over £5,000 of the £4,000 goal on GoFundMe and has told supporters 'no more donations are now needed'.
She added: "I am beyond grateful for all your help, I am honestly speechless by all your kindness and lovely supportive messages.
"Cookie has responded to treatment after 10 whole days fighting and is now on the mend, one day at a time."
Today (21 June), Amy took to Instagram to share the latest update: "20 / 06 / 23. The vets give me the heartbreaking choice to make a decision of putting cookie to sleep, as it was 10 days of treatment with no signs of improvement.
"I told them i wasn’t making a rational decision on her life... And I’m glad I didn’t because now she has stopped vomiting and is keeping food down."
She concluded: "It's like a miracle happened."
It sure is.
Rhiannon Ingle