Puppy love: Care home dog on the mend thanks to hip op paid for by residents

A care home’s much-loved rescue dog is said to be “recovering well” after residents and staff raised £8,000 to replace both his hips.

The resident canine called William, stole the hearts of all he met at Invernevis House in Fort William, Scotland, when he was adopted by the home last year from the charity ‘Give a Dog a Bone and an animal a home’.

Despite lighting up the room and making residents smile and enjoying daily dog walks from volunteers, the abandoned street dog from Cyprus had health worries that needed fixing caused by the five-year-old spaniel’s hard life on the streets.

William was in physical pain having lived his whole life with a degenerative hip condition, but late last year care home staff, residents and the local community decided to come to his aid by raising £8,000 to pay for two hip operations.

Now out of hospital, following his first hip operation on 23 February on his right hip, he has returned to the care home and is under the watchful eye of care worker Lucille Burns, who was assigned to be his ‘key worker’ when he first arrived at the home.

’Eating well’

Described by staff in the dog’s Facebook page as ‘a horrendous operation with a long recovery’, Invernevis House manager Kit Cameron told carehome.co.uk: "He’s doing well. He’s eating well. He feels no pain.

“It won’t be too long before he’s back running around.”

Sporting a pair of flashy pants to cover his operation scar, the happy pooch has been under doctor’s orders to take it easy and rest for at least eight weeks. However now that he's pain-free, he's eager to try out his new hip and is desperate to run and jump.

The spaniel is expected to return to hospital later in the year for an operation on his other hip.

Before finding a lot of love and attention at Invernevis House, William endured a long wait for a new home. The care home’s staff had been running a social media campaign to find a dog for residents and it was the charity ‘Give a Dog a Bone and an animal a home’ that suggested William.

Thousands of animals are put down each year and over 100,000 have to be rehomed, because their owners have to give them up when enter care homes, according to research by care provider Anchor.

But the leading reviews care home site, carehome.co.uk, reveals that 43 per cent (8,081 out of 18,961) of care homes in the UK are actually pet-friendly care homes.

William has fans around the world via his own Facebook page www.facebook.com/williamofinvernevis/ and his presence at the care home is proving to be a much-needed tonic for residents.

The care home's manager added: “The residents really missed him. They like the fact he makes them feel safe. He will bark when he hears the doorbell ring.”

For a list of pet-friendly care homes go to: www.carehome.co.uk/care_search_results.cfm/searchcountry/UK/searchchtype/pet-friendly