A WOMAN who was visiting Aberlady on holiday from England is appealing for help to pay her dog's vet bills after it was hit by a car in the village.

Lucy King, 47, is facing up to £6,000 in vet bills after her dog Chesney was run over in the village when he escaped from their holiday home.

Chesney is a mixed breed rescue dog whom Lucy rescued from SOS Oroklini in Cyprus. He is believed to be about two years old.

Speaking about the accident, Lucy said: “He’s had surgery to have his front right leg removed, and his two back ones are also badly injured.

“We don’t have long to get money together for him. The first bill we got came to £666, which was just to keep him medicated in their care.

“We haven’t been given a guaranteed price in total because we don’t know how long all the surgery will take or how successful it will be.

“But we know it’s going to be thousands of pounds and it’s not money we have at the moment.”

East Lothian Courier: Chesney had been enjoying a walk at Aberlady Bay just a day before the accident.

Chesney had been happy before the accident

Lucy was emotional as she recalled how happy Chesney had been prior to the accident.

She said: “It’s hard to think that just hours before he was a happy little boy that I’d rescued to now he’s fighting for his life. It’s just really hard.

“My son has special needs and Chesney is absolutely amazing with him, they’re best friends and losing him would absolutely destroy him.”

The accident occurred on Wednesday, August 24, at a holiday home in Aberlady. Chesney was being looked after by Lucy’s friend Marianne when he became anxious and ran away.

He was found later on the side of the road near Aberlady Bowling Club seriously injured.

Marianne said: “My 13-year-old daughter found him. He was very badly injured and you could see his bones sticking through two of his legs. It was horrible.

“I feel so bad for Lucy, they hadn’t had a holiday since 2020 and last time they went on holiday, their 17-year-old dog had a seizure and died. They just can’t seem to catch a break.”

East Lothian Courier: Pic Credit: Lucy King Facebook

Chesney is home now after being cared for at Braid Veterinary Hospital in Edinburgh. His leg is healing slowly and the family have been instructed to watch it carefully in case of infection.

Lucy said: "He's home now after having to leave him up in Scotland and go back for him. He's going to need a lot of physio and other rehabilitation.

"He's lucky to be here with the injuries he sustained. He's very nervous to fast movements and certain sounds too."

The GoFundMe for Chesney has already raised more than £3,500 and Lucy said that she was very grateful to the public for their help.

She said: “It means a lot that people are taking notice. We’re trying to share it as much as we can online and it means so much to see people care about him.”

Visit gofundme.com/f/chesneys-emergency-vets-bills to donate to Chesney’s appeal.