A puppy escaped having its leg amputated after an Oxford vet and the RSPCA clubbed together to pay for an operation.

Dora is now on the mend

When German shepherd-collie cross Dora -- pictured with vet Andrew Bartholomew -- was taken to Iffley Road Veterinary Surgery, her leg was so deformed from a bone disease that she was in extreme pain and could barely walk.

Her owner could not afford to pay the £2,500, but a former colleague of Mr Bartholomew carried out the operation to save the limb without charging a fee.

Mr Bartholomew said: "I felt sorry for Dora from the moment I saw her and had to do something to help her. The alternative -- to amputate the leg of a small puppy -- was appalling."