Letchworth: Appeal after puppy injured in hit-and-run accident

Julia Clark began the appeal after her six-year-old grandson's puppy, Woody, a Jack Russell cross, was hurt in an incident on Thursday, April 20.

The dog, which is one-year-old and belongs to Julia's daughter, Gemma, and her grandson, Theo, had managed to escape from their garden without them noticing.

Reportedly, a neighbour and two teenagers saw Woody be hit by a car. They managed to catch the puppy, and rushed him to the vets.

The first that Gemma knew about the incident was when somebody knocked on the door to tell her what had happened.

Woody is a Jack Russell cross. (Image: Julia Clark)

At that point, Julia says, Gemma "dropped everything" and rushed to Letchworth Veterinary Centre where her neighbour and the two teenagers had taken Woody.

Julia says they were told that Woody had "taken the full brunt of it on his back end - if it had been the front, he probably wouldn't have survived.

"The vets were really good, they x-rayed him and gave him pain relief, and found that he had eight fractures in his pelvis."

That meant Woody needed a specialist vet, and they were able to take him to Hamilton, a specialist animal hospital in High Wycombe.

Woody was taken for a CT scan, and had an operation at 6pm on Friday, April 21. That was "more complicated than they expected", and took about six hours, but he made it through.

Woody is now recovering at the vets in High Wycombe, where he continues to be supplied with pain relief and has "lots of bolts and plates in his back".

Gemma and her family are receiving daily updates on his progress, and are waiting for a call from a consultant.

Julia says that her daughter is a "wreck" and "broken-hearted" about the incident, with both her and Theo "absolutely devastated" by it.

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Unfortunately, the bills for Woody's treatment are also adding up.

Hamilton estimated that the cost to treat Woody would be between £5,000 and £10,000, a figure that Gemma would struggle to pay.

Gemma told Julia that she would "sell her car" if necessary to raise the money, but Julia, who owns Peaches Grooming Parlour in Arlesey, decided to start a GoFundMe page instead.

Thanks to the generosity of a number of donors - including one who donated £5,000, leading Gemma to initially wonder if a mistake had been made - the fund has reached its initial target of £5,000.

Julia has launched a GoFundMe for Woody to help pay the vet bills. (Image: Julia Clark)

Further good news came from Letchworth Veterinary Centre, who decided to wipe Gemma's bill.

However, Julia is continuing to seek donations as the vet bill from Hamilton could rise further. Her next target is £10,000, which should meet the total cost of the bill from Hamilton.

Gemma and Julia would like to thank all those who have donated so far, and the neighbour and two teenagers who helped get Woody to the vets.

If you know who the teenagers were, please email chris.day@newsquest.co.uk and we can put you in touch.

The GoFundMe page for Woody can be found at gofund.me/3384faae