A YOUNG animal lover from Davenham has helped an injured dog in Bosnia find a new forever home in the UK.

At just six years old, determined Elsie Pattison raised a total of £600 with a sponsored silence - £300 to help Willowsway Cats Rescue in Weaverham and £300 to help Hope the dog.

Mum Paula explained: "Elsie absolutely loves animals and just wanted to do something to help during the lockdown.

“We’ve got a really old dog ourselves so Elsie has always been really good with dogs.

“She did want to do a sponsored silence for a full 24 hours but we said that might be a bit too much and we settled on six hours - one hour for each year of her age.

“We got loads of activities for her to do and some films to watch and the time flew by - Elsie made no mistakes!”

Northwich Guardian:

The family were only aiming to raise about £200 but smashed their target after setting up an online fundraising page, much to Elsie's delight.

Explaining where the funds were donated to, Paula said: “My friend, Josephine Nancollis, runs a cat rescue in Weaverham with her friend, Liz Peach, and they came across an seven-month-old dog called Hope in Bosnia.

“She was owned by someone in Bosnia and she must have got out as a puppy and been hit by a car, so she was dumped in the mountains.

“A lady had found her but unfortunately her leg was so badly broken she had to have it amputated.

“She’s now all healed up and you wouldn’t even notice that she’s got only three legs.

“Hope arrived in Northwich last week and Elsie went to see her over the weekend."

Willowsway Cat Rescue in Weaverham is a registered charity that was set up by Josephine and Liz to ensure the welfare and safety of neglected or unwanted cats within the Northwich area.

They help as many cats as they can and offer them shelter and care until they can find them new families.

As well as cats, Josephine loves dogs - and fell in love with Hope the three-legged-dog so much that she had to adopt her.

Northwich Guardian:

Josephine explained: "Liz and I decided in September 2019 that we would set up our own rescue to help cats and kittens in the area.

"We’ve managed to treat and re-home in excess of 350 cats in this short space of time.

"We work with a number of other rescues outside of the UK, mainly Romania and Bosnia where animals do not get the care they deserve.

"We helped to treat and rehome a tortured kitten with Edina Pasic in Sarajevo and quickly became friends.

"She has little support and helps cats and dogs.

"We saw her plight with Hope and decided to help.

"Her story touched me so much I decided I had to adopt her."

Visit willowsway.org.uk or search for Willowsay Cat Rescue on Facebook.