A dog who was found straying by the River Thames with a broken leg has been helped to walk again thanks to the care of leading animal welfare charity, Battersea.
One-year-old Lurcher, Marble, whose story is featured in the new series of ITV’s For the Love of Dogs with Alison Hammond, was found abandoned and alone by a member of the public.
After being taken into Battersea’s Old Windsor Centre, Marble was limping badly and after being examined by the charity’s expert veterinary team, it was discovered that she was suffering from a serious and painful fracture on her shin bone which could have been caused by previous trauma.
With Battersea’s expert teams giving her the vital care she needed, Marble underwent a complex operation to help mend her leg at the charity’s London centre, and over the following weeks Marble’s leg began to heal.
Rebecca Verne, Centre Manager at Battersea’s London Centre, said: “Sadly we may never know the real reason why Marble was left in this situation, but we’re very grateful to the person that found her, as it meant that she was able to get the specialist care from our expert teams who go all in every day to give our rescue animals the vital care they need”.
With Marble making progress on her road to recovery, she received a special course of physiotherapy at Battersea’s specialist facility to help her get used to using her injured leg. To help her skin wounds heal, Marble also receive a course of laser therapy, which uses light energy to target cells, helping to reduce pain and inflammation to speed up the healing process.
Alongside Battersea’s expert staff, For the Love of Dogs presenter, Alison Hammond, was on hand to give Marble the love and support that she needed to keep her spirits up whilst she was on the road to recovery.
Speaking about Marble, Alison Hammond said: “Marble really went through such a tough time, but she was so brave throughout her treatment with her winning personality shining through. I followed her journey from the very beginning, cheering her up with some much-needed TLC and it was incredible to see the work of Battersea’s dedicated veterinary team and the time they put into caring for her”.
Tune in to see Marble’s story unfold in the first episode of the new series of For the Love of Dogs with Alison Hammond airing Tuesday 1st April on ITV1 at 8:30pm.
To find out about how Battersea improves the lives of animals with care and expertise, please visit the Battersea website to find out more: https://www.battersea.org.uk
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For further information, images or interviews please contact press@battersea.org.uk
Notes to editors
• At Battersea we offer our love and expert care to dogs and cats who need us by rescuing, rehabilitating and rehoming animals at our centres, and by sharing our knowledge and resources with other organisations around the world. We do this because we want to help every dog and cat, everywhere.
• In 2023 Battersea directly cared for 2,529 dogs and 2,450 cats at our three centres. We also helped thousands more through campaigning work, supporting other rescues and animal welfare advocates, and sharing knowledge and advice with pet owners.
• Battersea has three centres based in London; Old Windsor, Berkshire; and Brands Hatch, Kent.
• To find out more visit our website or follow Battersea on Twitter @battersea_ , Instagram @battersea, Facebook facebook.com/Battersea and TikTok @battersea.