A couple from Maldon has launched an appeal to raise funds so that their sick puppy can have the operation he urgently needs.

Fergus the Westie has maxed out his owners' insurance since being diagnosed with a liver shunt after falling ill in August.

After sending their pup to specialist vet Dick White Referrals, Samuel and Claire Burns were told that he would need surgery if the medication he was given did not work.

Although the medication worked for a few weeks, Fergus had a relapse this month.

The couple has now set up a GoFundMe page to raise the £6,000 required to give Fergus the operation he needs.

The technical term for his condition is relapse of hepatic encephalopathy secondary to extra hepatic porto systemic shunt.

Samuel said: "Our insurance only paid out £1,000 for the first treatment and won't pay out anymore.

"Fergus has cost £3,000 so far - we've tried all the known charities.

"We've had to pay out £2,000 of our own money and my wife is on maternity leave as well, so it's costing us money that we haven't got."

Samuel and Claire, who have had Fergus since the end of 2019 after buying him from a breeder in Kent, have raised just over £3,000 so far for the surgery.

This includes the £1,390 they have raised via their GoFundMe page and generous donations from Westie owners in Bristol.

Samuel said: "There's a lovely lady in Bristol who runs a Westie lovers'

group and they have raised just over £1,700 for us."

He added: "The people that have helped have been terrific."

A Maldon craft store is also helping the couple raise the funds they need.

Behind the Damson Door is encouraging customers to donate to the GoFundMe in exchange for a chance to win a product of their choice from the business' Etsy shop.

There will be three lucky winners, and you can find out how to enter here.

Samuel said: "We've got to get this surgery done."

You can donate to Fergus' surgery here.