Beaten dog abandoned in river has ‘gigantic’ tumour removed from chest – and his saviours are crowdfunding to cover medical bills

Boggles the dog. Picture: Supplied (Image: Archant)

Boggles is believed to be some sort of Mastiff cross, who was rescued by Sam Bussey six years ago when he noticed a "little head floating motionless" in the River Lee, Edmonton, after he'd become entangled in reeds.

Sam and his partner Polly Murphy slowly gained Boggles' trust over a month by leaving food out for him, before taking him home to their flat off Hornsey Lane.

Boggles, thought to be about seven, was nurtured back to strength and living happily until two weeks ago when his breathing became laboured and his condition quickly deteriorated to the point he could barely walk.

Polly told the Gazette: "We took him to the emergency vet's and she said: 'He has a huge tumour on his heart, so there's a high chance he'll go into cardiac arrest.' They said his heart is so irregular if you sedate him there's a high chance he won't recover.

Boggles the dog sleeping. Pictrue: Supplied (Image: Archant)

"Nobody can figure out how he has been walking around with something that huge against his heart.

"If there was a chance to remove it and give him a normal dog's life we had to take it - and, each step of the way, he has done remarkably well."

He was operated on last week, when a large cancerous tumour was removed from his chest cavity. He's now recovering at a farm owned by family friends in Oxfordshire, as the couple's flat is up two flights of stairs which he can't currently navigate.

Sam's a freelance audio visual technician and Polly is studying fine arts at Middlesex University. They live with her mother, Fiona, and don't have pet insurance but had set some cash aside in case Boggles fell ill - this was quickly spent on "astronomical" consultation fees.

They're now hoping to raise £7,000 so they can pay their friends back and cover the chemotherapy they fear Boggles may still need.

You can see the crowdfunding page here.