Argus readers dig deep to reunite teenage girl with her beloved dog Blue (From The Argus)
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Argus readers dig deep to reunite teenage girl with her beloved dog Blue
9:43am Wednesday 30th May 2012 in News
REUNITED: Meghan and Blue
A teenager who was told she would lose her dog because she couldn’t afford the vet bills is set to be reunited with the pet – thanks to Argus readers.
Meghan Bingham was told she would have to pay around £2,000 for an operation after Blue was hit by a car last Saturday.
The 17-year-old, who goes to college and works part-time at Poundstretcher, was told that if she couldn’t afford the vet fees, she would have to either sign her pet away to a charity or have it put down.
With no other option, the Lancing girl signed the forms and said goodbye to her beloved nine-year-old dog for the last time.
But following her story appearing in The Argus on Thursday, we have been flooded with phone calls from kind-hearted readers wanting to help out.
With the total amount pledged quickly exceeding the £2,000 estimate, local dog charity manager Billy Elliott said he would be happy to reunite the pair.
An emotional Meghan said: “I want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated money.”
Mr Elliott, from Worthing and District Animal Rescue Service (Wadars), said: “We need to make sure whoever adopts one of our animals is able to support them in the future.
“If not, it comes straight back to us next time and we just cannot afford it. We have had people call and criticise us, but if we had not come up with the money last weekend, Blue would have been put down there and then. It’s as simple as that.”
He told The Argus that as long as Meghan could prove she was financially capable of supporting the dog by getting animal insurance, he would be happy to reunite them.
Stacey McSpirit, from the Paws Animal Sanctuary in Findon, was straight onto the phone on Thursday morning pledging her support.
She said: “We saw the story and just wanted to get those two dogs [Blue and Meghan's other dog Della] back together.
“We’ve just had some money left to us by a visitor who recently died of cancer. He used to come up to see the animals and would have loved to have help out.
“We don’t normally have much money but thought ‘Let’s do it, it must be fate’.”
Dave Hawkin, who also called us to pledge his support, added: “She seemed like she needed help so I’m only too happy to be of assistance.”
Comments(13)
BHAFC151
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10:18am Wed 30 May 12
Jo Wadsworth
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11:19am Wed 30 May 12
spa301 wrote:good spot - I have now made it clear that the quote refers to Meghan's other dog Della.
"She said: “We saw the story and just wanted to get those two dogs back together."
Very glad to hear of the happy ending. Stacey McSpirits comment seems a bit rude tho!!
Crystal Ball
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12:36pm Wed 30 May 12
Archie Bun
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12:41pm Wed 30 May 12
MuammarQaddafi
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1:26pm Wed 30 May 12
sdhgfhfuyt
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7:39pm Wed 30 May 12
MuammarQaddafi wrote:you're not legally obligated nor morally obliged to do or say anything, so why bother posting negative comments on a heart warming story, or even at all ?
So if WADARS take in animals, give them out again for adoption, and then repossess and euthanise them, what's the point? Why not just euthanise the animals to start with and save a lot of bother? Or are we legally obligated to keep up a pretence?
Nightshade
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9:47am Thu 31 May 12
plantwoman
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11:43am Thu 31 May 12
John Steed
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1:24pm Thu 31 May 12
MuammarQaddafi wrote:there are animal charities and there are animal charities.
So if WADARS take in animals, give them out again for adoption, and then repossess and euthanise them, what's the point? Why not just euthanise the animals to start with and save a lot of bother? Or are we legally obligated to keep up a pretence?
many start and remain being run by dedicated private people, doing what they can with a little money and a lot of dedication, there are others that grow to big for their boots,
KarenT
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7:56pm Thu 31 May 12
Greyhound - fan
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8:43pm Thu 31 May 12
Juleyanne
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10:35am Fri 1 Jun 12
Vet bills are often extortionate and often out of reach of many on low incomes who do not qualify for PDSA care. Pet insurance is a must particularly for those on a low income. Animal shelters are overburdened to breaking point and something needs to be done to address this!
DEFRA apparently has no plans to address spiralling vet bills and claims it is up to the individual to 'shop around'! Not good enough, how are pet owners supposed to do that in an emergency situation! Pet insurance can be a 'tricky' option and people need to read the small print as too many find themselves insured due to not fully understanding what they are or are not covered for. However, pet insurance is a safety net if properly researched. Landlords and letting agencies need to be much more flexible concerning pet ownership of tenants. Many much loved pets handed over to animal shelters is because of rigid 'no pet policies'. A very small number of letting agencies have special agreements for pet owning tenants with an additional deposit and agreement for 'professional cleaning' written into tenancy agreements. This needs to be rolled out to help stop the forced abandonment of pets. If such heartbreaking situations are to reduce, this needs addressing from several angles for the urgent sake of animal welfare in this country.
spa301 says...
10:10am Wed 30 May 12
Very glad to hear of the happy ending. Stacey McSpirits comment seems a bit rude tho!!