Little Paxton family’s bid to rescue stray dog who left his mark on summer holiday
Kiley Smerdon-Purser with Doogie. - Credit: Archant
A Little Paxton family is hoping to raise almost £2,000 to help rescue a dog they found living on the streets in Turkey.
Kiley Smerdon-Purser returned to the UK on August 6 after spending a fortnight with her husband and children in Turkey, but the 41-year-old hopes a new member of the family will soon be coming home to join them.
A beagle-cross which was living on the streets bumped into the family at their resort while they were enjoying the sun and they took a shine to him immediately, so much so they Kiley says she couldn’t bear to be parted when it was time for the family to go home.
Kiley managed to find a local foster home willing to take care of Doogie – the name given to him by the family – and she is now hoping to raise £1,800 to cover the cost of getting him checked over and transported back to the UK, with enough money left to make a donation to the foster carer, Tulay Avci.
Mrs Smerdon-Purser, who runs a grooming business for cats and dogs, said: “I always said that my next dog would find me and, while I agree that there are hundreds of stray dogs all around the world and I wish I could do something to help them all, I am doing something small to help this dog.
“People pay thousands of pounds for designer puppies which I don’t necessarily agree with. I would much rather take a dog from off the streets and it just so happens that this dog was on the streets of Turkey.”
As well money to pay for jabs and tests for Doogie, Mrs Smerdon-Purser also needs to raise the funds to pay for his transportation home.
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As there are no direct flights for dogs, he will have to be driven across the continent in order to bring him back to Little Paxton, where he will join the family’s two other dogs, a pug-cross and a Jack Russell-cross.
Mrs Smerdon-Purser added: “I have always worked with dogs and I just felt this overwhelming connection with him. He reminded me of my first dog and I couldn’t bear to leave him behind.”
To donate to the fundraising campaign, log on to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/kiley-smerdon-purser-3.
