Matthew first approached Our Special Friends (OSF) in July 2025 as his puppy, Frank, had retained deciduous teeth that were impacting the development of his adult teeth. Matthew was recovering from alcoholism and explained how Frank was a ‘game changer’ for him and that he’d ‘forgotten what joy and love were’ until he got Frank.
Although the issue with Frank’s teeth did not meet the criteria for a financial contribution from OSF’s Animal Welfare Support Fund (AWSF), we were moved by Matthew’s situation and wanted to help. Another funder had awarded us a supply of supermarket vouchers to give out to people in financial hardship, so we were able to give Matthew £100 of these vouchers. This freed up enough of Matthew’s own money for him to pay for Frank’s dental treatment himself.
The following month Matthew reluctantly contacted OSF again. Frank had developed a prolapsed gland in his eye, known as Cherry Eye, which left his eye red and puffy. Matthew had been quoted £475 for the procedure Frank required, which he could not afford. Not long after this, Frank’s other eye developed the same problem, and the vet’s estimate for both eyes rose to £650. Matthew had paid the £100 deposit and secured £150 funding from the RSPCA, and had sold what he could to raise funds, including his games console and some jewellery, but had no more to sell.
Knowing that Frank was Matthew’s lifeline and the main reason for him to remain sober, OSF agreed to contribute £300 from our AWSF towards Frank’s surgery. We also nominated Matthew for ‘500 Suffolk Reasons’, a small local fundraising group which supports people in need. They kindly agreed to give £500 to spend on whatever he needed, to which Matthew responded: “I’m blown away, I have no words”. Matthew told us he was able to be a better owner as he was more relaxed now and had been “floating with happiness”.
In October unfortunately Frank needed a repeat surgery on one of his eyes, but thanks to the 500 Suffolk Reasons money, Matthew could afford this procedure. However, he was concerned about the effect that the aftercare would have on Frank, a large-breed puppy, as he would need to wear a cone and have restricted exercise. As usual, Frank’s needs were foremost in Matthew’s mind. OSF put him touch with our ‘Team Behaviour’ volunteers who have an interest in dog behaviour. They visited Matthew and Frank at home and found Matthew to be a very engaged owner and receptive to their suggestions, which helped Frank get through his six weeks wearing the cone.
Afterwards, Matthew said, “I’m still eternally grateful and blown away by all the help I received, not only the £300 but the support after. Frank and I are still going strong. I’m still sober, it was a year since my last drink on the 23rd of February and [I’ve] just started a new course on recovery at the local support centre … You’ve been such a massive help I really don’t think that I would have managed to keep him without your support.”
