Willow, a black and tan heavily pregnant hound was abandoned in Portadown just two weeks after Christmas, and due to a serious injury had to have her leg amputated. The vets were unable to operate on her until after she had the pups, because of the risk of the anaesthetic. Since then she has been recovering at the sanctuary awaiting to be rehomed. Now thanks to the Leader readers Willow, who was named after the Willow Veterinary Clinic which cared for her, will be living in Newcastle and all her litter of ten pups have been rehomed at various locations across Northern Ireland. A spokesperson for the sanctuary said, “Since we placed the appeal into the paper the reaction from the public has been nothing short of fantastic. “Willow will now be living in a house - once she is fully recovered - in Newcastle which is right near to the beach. Her new owner has said that she will take her out for daily walks to the beach which is great as the sand will be gentle on her feet yet help strengthen her legs.” The spokesperson said that the amount of support from the food appeal for Willow and her pups at Jollyes was ‘remarkable.’ “This has been one of the best food appeals we have ever had,” she said. “People came from Lisburn and Portadown just to give us food and the support was remarkable. “They all said that they were willing to help in anyway they could. “Someone left in 24 15kg bags plus two trollies full of food all donated from customers. A lot of people were just keen to help in anyway they could so I would thank the readers for their help and support. “We do about one or two appeals a year but this is by far the best appeal we have ever done.”