AN EIGHT-WEEK-old puppy who needed emergency heart surgery to survive is now on the road to recovery thanks to donations from the public.

A spaniel-cross pup called Odhrán, born in a litter of five pups and in the care of the ISPCA Donegal centre, was born with a rare condition which meant he could not swallow food. 

He needed open-heart surgery and was quickly operated on by a team of veterinary specialists at UCD. 

Speaking to 98FM’s Dublin Talks show, Donegal centre manager Denise McCausland said the young pup, who will be available for adoption following his recovery, is doing “fantastic”. 

“He just didn’t seem to be able to eat properly and when he did eat he regurgitated his food,” she explained. 

“There was only so much we could do and we started investigating further as to what was going wrong. Then we realised we were dealing with a very life-threatening condition.

“It was making him nauseous, it affected his breathing and this funnily enough is attached to the heart.”

The condition is known as Persistent Right Aortic Arch and creates a hole in the oesophagus of dogs meaning food cannot pass.

Yesterday, Odhrán underwent surgery to correct the condition and will soon be ready for re-homing.

“It was really touch and go now for a while,” McCausland said. “It is very expensive – bearing in mind that they are specialists and it was an open heart surgery.

Life-saving surgery gave Odhrán a second chance.

“I had a report back last night that he done well in the surgery and he was recovering in intensive care,” she added. 

“This morning reports back are just fantastic that he is doing well. He is alert he is eating and has had no regurgitation and he is in great form.”

The cost of the surgery came in around €2,000 with over €1,500 of that received in donations from members of the public. 

The ISPCA is now appealing for assistance to make up the remainder of the cost of operating on the puppy, with any excess donations going towards future operations on ISPCA dogs. 

“It could cost up to €2000 for the one little pup, and so far people have been very generous on Facebook and to have raised €1,534 which is just amazing. 

“We would be glad for any other assistance if anyone would like to help Odhrán in this case, and of course in similar cases going forward.

“Odhrán in particular, of course, will be looking for an extra special home to look after him and help him grow up into a the beautiful dog he is going to be,” she added. 

Anyone who wants to donate to the ISPCA can do so here.