KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 11 ― A pet owner in Sydney has spent a whopping A$200,000 (RM597,291) to fix her French Bulldog's health issues brought about from dodgy breeding practises.
Maureen Elvy's French bulldog ― Phoebe ― needs spinal, airway and genital surgeries and regular immunotherapy costing A$2,000 (RM5,971) a treatment since she got the dog in 2017, Daily Mail reported.
Phoebe's health is so precarious that she is allergic to 700 types of tree, and can only survive with a diet of crocodile meat and a hypoallergenic biscuit.
She cannot play in many Sydney parks because she's allergic to Couch grass, which is extremely common.
Phoebe was given to Elvy as a gift to help her recover from the death of her beloved cat Junior.
Both pets' companionship helped Elvy, a former model, in her long recovery at her home in Sydney after a car crash on Australia Day in 2013 that left her paralysed.
Phoebe's treatment has mostly been paid for by credit cards, help from family, GoFundMe donations, and a US$100 pet insurance premium every two weeks.
As well as surgeries, Phoebe needs medications for allergies as she is highly allergic to 700 types of gum trees and a huge range of food.
On top of her already limited diet, any vegetables would make her vomit and give her stomach ulcers.
Her most expensive surgery to date was A$16,000 (RM47,694) for a spinal cord injury caused when Phoebe fell down three stairs after catching her foot in a garden hose.
Looking back, Elvy concedes she probably would not have gotten Phoebe had she known the costs would be so high although she has no regrets about owning her.
“I think my future might be harder financially because of her but I do truly believe I was lucky to have her ― she has made my life a delight.”
“Maybe no other owner would have done what she needed, maybe that would have put her down already.”
