Mum saves tiny dog that had only ever been fed Chinese takeaways

Sarah Moore made a life-saving decision when she agreed to take in a tiny chihuahua who had been living in a van

Sarah Moore is urging others to follow her example and rescue animals being abandoned as the pandemic pet trend begins to fade. The stay-at-home mum was browsing social media when she spotted a post about a tiny chihuahua named Bella.

Without a second thought, the 55 year old stepped in to save the pup from her grim living conditions, as the dog had been living in a van and "had only ever eaten Chinese food". When Sarah took Bella to the vet, it was discovered that she had lost most of her teeth due to this diet and her nails were also overgrown.

Fortunately, Bella easily settled into the Moore household alongside Sarah’s two Labradors and three other chihuahuas. However, the Suffolk mum realised that Bella wasn’t the only beloved pet facing deteriorating conditions after the pandemic led to a rise in pet ownership, only for the cost of living crisis to wreak havoc on pet budgets.

Plans to return to the office have also resulted in an increasing number of pets becoming strays as their owners no longer have the time or money to care for them. This deeply upset the mother-of-three.

She said: "Here in Suffolk, dogs are being found in different places every day." She warned they were "just left and tied to fences."

"These poor dogs need more people to help them. I felt I had to do something."

While she couldn't take in every Bella she spotted on social media, she did start supporting local animal charities although she didn't have as much disposable income to share with the cause due to the cost of living crisis as her dog food and vet bills also increased. However, she soon discovered a different way she could help without costing herself a penny.

Her local animal charity, Suffolk Animal Rescue, is a cause on easyfundraising. In return for using the platform to do her online shopping, the companies she buys from donate a percentage of her purchase to the charities of her choice without adding any extra expense to her bill.

Sarah said: "I’ll do my supermarket shopping at Sainsbury's via easyfundraising, and a donation will go to SAR just from my food shop. When that starts adding up it’s incredible. It doesn’t take up any time and doesn’t cost any money. You just sign up and then visit their site or open their app before you shop, that’s it."

So far, Sarah has raised £240 for SAR without spending an extra penny for it and this figure is set to rise as she plans to do her Christmas shopping through the website. More than 190,000 causes are listed on easyfundraising with over £57million in funding being generated for them through the platform.