LITTLE Honor came to England on the back of a lorry, but now faces a real fight for survival.
The sick puppy was left on the side of the road by a foreign truck driver and a Bicester kennel is now raising cash to pay for the medical care she needs.
And unless Ardley Rescue Kennels raises the £2,500 needed to look after her, there are fears she may have to be put down.
The young Shar Pei dog was seen with a lorry driver who stopped at Bicester Services in Oxford Road on Tuesday, August 17.
He stayed until Thursday, but was then seen leaving the services without his pet.
One-year-old Honor, who has been named by workers at the kennels, then went on a wander around Oxfordshire, evading capture for five days.
Annabelle Pottle, a trustee from Ardley, said Honor had been frightened and hungry.
She added: “We tried to catch her from Friday right through until Tuesday, and she was on the dual carriageway at one point.
“We were joined by three officers from Trading Standards, since she was classed as an ‘illegal landing’.”
When Honor was eventually caught using a special trap, the kennels traced her origin back to Poland.
Miss Pottle said: “She was microchipped, but not registered, so we couldn’t trace her past the Polish embassy.”
Rescuers also discovered Honor was ill and needed treatment.
Miss Pottle said: “We found out she had entropia, which means her eyelashes are growing in-wards, so she will need an operation soon to help her.”
Honor now has to spend six months in quarantine at a kennels in Warwickshire.
She is due to come back to Oxfordshire on February 17, so the kennels is trying to raise as much cash as possible before then.
Miss Pottle said: “Because she is so young, she just has to spend these six months alone in quarantine and then she’ll have her life ahead of her.
“She comes home in February, when we will give her the operation she needs and try to find her a loving new home.”
But the total cost of the quarantine and medical treatment will come to £2,500.
And Ardley Rescue Kennels, which relies entirely on public donations, has been left with the bill.
Miss Pottle said: “We have so many donations from kind supporters in Oxfordshire and we are always very grateful. But we need every penny we can raise to save this lovely, adorable dog.
“When we last saw Honor, she was scared and in desperate need of food and a bath.
“But the kennels in Warwickshire tell us she is really friendly, so it’ll be our job to fix her up and then find her a new home.”
- QUARANTINE: THE RULES
For a dog, cat or ferret to enter the UK from the EU, they must be microchipped, vaccinated against rabies and blood-tested.
The animal must also be issued with an EU pet passport and treated against ticks and tapeworms.
The pet can only travel six months after the blood test proved clear and after a course of rabies vaccinations.
Animals lacking any of these or that come from other countries, must spend six months at an approved quarantine premises.
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