Help Towards Maximus' Fractured Hip & Vet Bills

My aim is to spread awareness of animal cruelty in flatshares & to help raise funds towards my dog’s fractured hip & his vet bills. I apologise to anyone who finds this triggering.

On Thursday 29th June I discovered that my dachshund, Maximus, has been subject to physical abuse over an extended period of time this year, within the presumed safety of my shared flat.

Across the last 6 months I have taken Maximus to the vet 12 times with injuries that happened in my absence. The vets & I have despaired at the limping, peeing blood, nosebleeds & mystery bruises that kept appearing. We were convinced it must be an autoimmune disease or ‘rat poison’, but all tests would come back negative. Looking back I am shocked I didn’t realise sooner - but you would never expect someone to be capable of this, let alone someone you live with and consider a 'friend'.

After returning home to Maximus limping and peeing blood on Wed 28th June, I finally set up a webcam in my bedroom. The following evening whilst I was out the flat, I witnessed my flatmate go into my room and kick Maximus repeatedly, fracturing his hip. He has currently lost the ability to walk and is peeing blood. The vets have now confirmed in a statement that all of Maximus’ injuries since January align with those of blunt force trauma - physical abuse. I have numerous recordings of my flatmate admitting her involvement, and the police & RSPCA are taking this forward.

If you are a dog owner in London and are living in / moving into a shared flat, I urge you to do your due diligence in making sure your flatmate/s are dog lovers, setting up a webcam in your bedroom, and possibly even getting a lock for your door. If you have any uncertainty whatsoever when leaving your pup, it is better for them to spend a few hours in a room alone (but safe) than run the risk of what Maximus has endured for months. I appreciate the likelihood is small, but equally, I never even suspected this until I caught it on camera.

My flatmate has since disappeared and I have been advised legally claiming back damages will be a lengthy process.

In the meantime, I have set up this GoFundMe to try and raise funds to:

Any donation big or small will make a huge difference in giving back the quality of life Maximus has selfishly had taken away. I will provide regular updates of Maximus' progress, his treatment & the progress of the criminal prosecution. I will be using any surplus amount towards his trauma & anxiety rehabilitation moving forwards, and to support animal cruelty charities.

Any help to spread awareness by sharing this page will be massively appreciated & hopefully prevent this from happening to someone else ❤️

Love, Nicola & Maximus x