A pet owner is appealing for donations to pay for her dog’s surgery.

Stacey Cleator’s 10-month-old mixed breed dog Benji was rescued in North Macedonia and sent to the Isle of Man.

Having spent three to four days travelling to the UK, he arrived in a ‘great deal of pain and distress’, according to Miss Cleator, of Laxey.

‘He’s scared of almost everything and everyone,’ she said.

‘When he arrived at Heysham port he didn’t move an inch from the car park for over four hours.

‘Luckily, a couple with their dog came to help and finally we managed to get him into the ferry terminal.

‘He had to be carried onto the boat and sat terrified under a seat in the dog lounge throughout the journey. Everything was new to him.

‘He had never been walked before so the lead frightened him. He had to be carried off the boat and all the way back to the car.

‘It took hours to get him home and much longer to get him settled.

‘He seemed quite unbalanced on his feet, but we put that down to his long journey to the UK at first.’

After a few days, Miss Cleator and her family took Benji for his first walk and they heard his ‘hips clunking loudly with each step he took’.

They found out Benji has hip dysplasia.

From there, Miss Cleator set up a JustGiving page for donations towards his surgery, adding: ‘I would like to give Benji a good life, a pain free life that all dogs deserve to have.

‘With him being found on the streets along with his mother and siblings back in North Macedonia, he hasn’t had the chance to experience what a happy dogs life can be like.

‘He is the last to be adopted and with him being so young, without surgical assistance, he will only be suffering with pain.

‘He looks on as the other dogs play and can only join in more if they play with him while he’s lying down.’

Each hip replacement will cost a minimum of £5,000 and he will need surgery on both hips.

All of Miss Cleator’s savings will go towards the surgery but she will rely on donations for the lump sum.

Just under £5,000 has been raised of her £8,000 target so far.

Miss Cleator said: ‘I’m actually completely overwhelmed with the amount of support people have shown in Benji – almost to the point of being speechless.

‘Their donations towards a pain free future for Benji means far more than I could ever say.

‘I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has already donated in his cause.

‘With their help and hopefully others, we can get Benji a new set of hips and give him a happy, pain free dogs life to really enjoy.’

You can donate by searching for Stacey Cleator’s page on JustGiving, titled ‘Weʼre raising £8,000 to Help give Benji a happy life, free from pain with a new set of hips. Total hip replacements urgently needed due to severe hip dysplasia’.