Beloved Portsmouth cavapoo in danger of being put down after freak accident successfully operated on by TV Supervet

The family of four-year-old cavapoo Tia said they were ‘amazed’ and ‘grateful’ after Channel 4 Supervet Noel Fitzpatrick deployed his customary inventiveness to make a new false hip joint using muscle and part of the damaged hip.

Feelings of despair have been replaced by relief and happiness after owner Megan Heywood admitted she had feared the worst. Tia fell down a ditch at Buckingham Green, Buckland, in February while out for a walk.

Megan, 35, rushed over to ‘screeching’ Tia before carrying the ‘immobile’ pooch home and going to Harbour Vets on London Road.

But it was then the horror of the seemingly innocuous incident was laid bare for the family, especially 11-year-old daughter Brienna - Tia’s ‘sidekick’.

X-Rays showed Tia’s hip had been dislodged from its socket with the family told a new hip replacement would cost £8,000 - with there no option but to put Tia down if she did not have the operation.

A referral to specialists in north Hampshire added to the bleak picture after it was unable to perform the operation.

Tia had been left on the brink after insurers Animal Friends only offered to put £2,000 towards the operation rather than £8,000 Megan thought she was covered for. This left the family launching a fundraising campaign to raise money.

But a last-ditch referral to Fitzpatricks, in Surrey, saved Tia. It is now hoped she will make a full recovery within a month.

Megan said: ‘We are ever so grateful. Going to Fitzpatricks is something we never would have thought of. If it wasn’t for them, Tia would not be here now.’

She added: ‘The operation went well, they took out the head of the damaged hip and moulded muscle around it to make a false joint. They made good with what they had.

‘Tia had to stay there for two nights and I had to wait in the car park for four hours to get her but it was worth it. She has now had her stitches out and is healing well.

‘Tia’s got a bit of a limp but no longer needs any painkillers. She’s got a dodgy haircut at the moment from where she was shaved for the operation but is going for a pamper.’

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Speaking of the moment Tia was brought home, Megan said: ‘We were supposed to keep Tia calm but when we got to the house Tia started to get excited and jump.

‘Brienna was very happy to have her sidekick back. She’s hardly left her side since Tia’s been back. I think Tia has missed her just as much.’

The cost of the operation ended up costing £4,000 with £2,000 put towards it via the pet insurance and £1,100 from the GoFundMe campaign.

It left Megan and her husband Gary to find the rest of the money and pay £600 for X-Rays and the diagnosis. ‘We’re lucky we’ve got people around us who were able to help,’ Megan said.

‘We are also so grateful to those who kindly donated through the funding campaign.’

To donate go to: uk.gofundme.com/f/tias-new-hip

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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