Disabled dog seeks bionic paw to help with crippling condition
It's looks like it's a dog's life for Bindi the dachshund. Pampered by her devoted owners and looking down from her own pram at her fellow furry friends in the park.
But the unlucky six-month-old puppy has had it tough.
The daxie was born with a crippling condition that leaves her barely able to walk a few painful steps. However she could soon become the Black Country's own bionic dog thanks to a pioneering operation.
Her devoted owner Niki Jones is determined to give her the best life possible – by raising £7,500 to give her a bionic paw.
"I just want to give her the best quality of life," she said.
Niki helps run a group for devoted dog fans who share her passion for dachshunds. The 41-year-old, from Coseley, had bred daxies before but thought her latest bid had been unsuccessful.
But when she was home one day she saw her dog Pepper had given birth to a tiny puppy. When she peeled back a blanket in the cage, she found little Bindi.
But soon she realised something was wrong. Bindi, who is a miniature smooth haired daxie, had been born with defects to both her front paws. A swift trip to the vet confirmed she had a condition called ectrodactyly. Both paws failed to form correctly, leaving her right hand paw webbed and the other with two 'fingers' instead of a normal claw.
Niki, with her husband Warren, 40, and children Kaylee, 23, stepson Zac, 17, Cameron, 15, and 12-year-old Bryony, decided they would take care of her as best they could. She has found a pioneering vet to operate on Bindi's left paw, the worst affected. It would involve amputating the paw and have a bionic one grafted to the leg.
The paw would be able to be screwed in and out allowing larger ones to be created as she grows up.
"It would be wonderful for her to have the operation," said Niki, who runs a computer sales and repairs business with her husband. But the surgery alone will cost £7,500 but follow up physio and hydro therapy likely to run to hundreds of pounds.
Yet thanks to the support of friends from the West Midlands Dachshund group she leads on Facebook, she is winning support for a fundraising drive.
The group meets regularly with up to 40 dachshunds going for walks at a time at places such as Sandwell Valley and Baggeridge Country Park, near Sedgley. But as Bindi can't walk very far, Niki takes her along in her very own pram so she can still interact with other dogs.
"We do get some funny looks. People must have thought she was being lazy. So I got a disabled dog sticker for the side," she said.
The campaign has raised £2,500 already. People can donate by visiting www.gofundme.com/bionicbindi
