Cumbernauld pensioner 'spends life savings to help abused rescue dog'

Stressed Margaret Haggerty has been left upset after forking out thousands to help Tide, a Chesapeake Bay retriever, but it sadly isn’t enough.

The 79-year-old, from Cumbernauld, adopted the six-year-old pet from the Scottish SPCA in July after it was allegedly severely abused by its previous owners for years.

Newsquest, Colin Mearns (Image: Newsquest, Colin Mearns)

Despite the painful start in life, Tide has remained very affectionate and thought it finally had its happy ending before suddenly falling ill last month.

The dog began suffering sickness and diarrhoea before collapsing and vets then revealed it has Addison's disease.

The condition occurs when a dog's adrenal glands aren't producing adequate levels of corticosteroid hormones.

Newsquest, Colin Mearns (Image: Newsquest, Colin Mearns)

If diagnosed and treated appropriately these dogs can live a long and happy life, but so far it has cost Margaret £3000 and Tide still needs more.

Margaret's daughter Victoria Brough, 35, told the Glasgow Times: “My mum is totally skint now. She has used all her savings on treatment to help Tide.

“We had noticed something was off but then she went into crisis mode and had sickness, diarrhoea, no appetite, no energy and collapsed. It’s really sad to see.

“The vet told us it was Addison’s disease and my mum has been trying to pay to get her steroids and hormones that will let her live a happy life.

“She wants to give Tide a nice life. She was badly abused by the guy who had her before but is still the most loving dog I have ever met.

“It’s stressing her out, she is very upset about the full thing.

“My mum found her on the SSPCA website and thought she looked like her dog who passed away, so she just fell in love right away.”

Newsquest, Colin Mearns (Image: Newsquest, Colin Mearns)

Addison’s disease, also known as hypoadrenocorticism, is a condition with serious consequences for dogs.

The most important hormones produced by the adrenal glands are steroids, particularly aldosterone and cortisol.

Steroids can help regulate the dog’s internal organs and body systems - meaning without them, a dog’s body deteriorates which could be fatal.

Margaret is desperate to fund the medication for Tide, and daughter Victoria decided to launch a fundraiser to help her do so.

Newsquest, Colin Mearns (Image: Newsquest, Colin Mearns)

Victoria explained: “My mum is going to try and pay £100 a month for Tide’s medication out her pension, that's all she's got now as she spent the rest at the vet.

“I set up a GoFundMe to try and raise £2000 to help cover the treatment and let Tide live a normal happy life after everything she’s been through.

“If vet costs continue to pile up, we will have to think of an alternative which we really don’t want to do.

“We aren’t out of the woods yet but hopefully after she can get out of crisis mode it won’t be so expensive.”

You can donate to Tide’s medication by clicking here.

Newsquest, Colin Mearns (Image: Newsquest, Colin Mearns)

Scottish SPCA head of rehoming, rehabilitation and release, Elaine Lindsay, said: "We’re sorry to hear that Tide has been having health issues since she was rehomed.

“We advised Tide’s new owners when they contacted the centre that unfortunately we would not be able to help with the costs of vet treatment for her Addison's disease.

"As we are a charity with limited resources, unfortunately we can’t contribute to or cover any veterinary costs for animals once they have been rehomed.

"It is the owner’s responsibility to cover the cost of any vet treatment for their adopted animal and this is outlined in our rehoming terms and conditions.

“Had Tide been returned to us, our veterinary team would have had to assess the severity of her illness.

"This may have resulted in Tide being put to sleep on health grounds had her welfare been found to be compromised, but this difficult decision would only have been made after a full veterinary examination.

“All animals who are rehomed from us are covered by four weeks' free pet insurance and we do advise owners to continue with this cover once the free trial has come to an end, or take out a policy with another insurer of their choice, in case of illness or injury.”