Mary's little miracle with your help

Funds raised for puppy's spinal cord operation within three days of appearing in CBNews

In just three days after her story was published in CBNews, the owner of fluffy puppy Mary, Bonnie Kinkead, has received donations to cover an operation that will allow Mary to lead a 'normal dog's life'.

Bonnie wishes to thank all readers and associations who have made the little miracle possible.

BRITISH expats living on the Costa Blanca have once again proved they have big hearts.

This time, the proof comes in the form a lovely little puppy by the name Mary and her owners Bonnie and Adriana.

Readers will recall how last week Costa Blanca News' Shelley Liddell reported on Mary's condition. Her little spine is like a roller-coaster and she hardly has any control of her weak back legs.

An MRI scan confirmed that Mary has hemivertebrae (a congenital vertebral abnormality). Five of her vertebrae are unstable and trap her spinal cord.

The condition is operable, but the intervention costs €2,259.40. While Bonnie and Adriana expected to pay money after adopting her from La Nucía dog home, they already have six rescue dogs and are not financially prepared for the cost of the operation.

This is why they made a plea through Costa Blanca News and social media last week to gather funds to give Mary ' the normal life she deserves'.

Bonnie and Adriana were aware of how much expats love their pets, but what happened over the weekend has left them speechless with gratitude.

Only a few hours after the article appeared in Costa Blanca News, Costa Blanca Dog Homing had raised almost half the amount by placing Mary's plea at the top of their Facebook entries and constantly calling for support.

Donations to the paypal account set up specifically for Mary started to flood in, and come Monday, Bonnie arrived at our offices (where she works too) and proudly announced that the target had been reached - all within just three days!

But expats' big hearts exceeded all their expectations when she received a phone call from an anonymous resident who offered to foot the entire bill after reading the article in last week's newspaper.

Of course Bonnie gave her a huge thank you and told her this was no longer necessary - but it further boosted our trusts in our readers' altruism.

No doubt Mary's story found its way into our readers' hearts and on behalf of Bonnie and Adriana, and all of us at Costa Blanca News we would like to give you all a big THANK YOU!

What happens now

As soon as the target was reached, Bonnie and Adriana posted messages on social media and via our website stating so and asking generous expats not to send in any more donations.

As they have been the main contributors to the cause, Bon- nie has decided that any funds received beyond the €2,259.40 mark will be shared between Costa Blanca Dog Homing and La Nucía dog shelter. In addition if anyone wish to help them directly look up or follow Costa Blanca Dog Homing on Facebook.

The veterinarian neurosurgeon in Paterna (Valencia) will straighten her spine the best as possible and they will hold it together with screws to release the spinal cord.

Of course this operation cannot be carried out immediately due to pre-operation prep and clinic schedules.

The operation is expected to be carried out in October, but rest assured we will be reporting on Mary's little miracle as the time draws near and especially as she makes her expected recovery.

The clinic is very optimistic as they had operated on a dog with a similar problem and a year later he is running about.