Dolly the pony gets lifesaving treatment thanks to community fundraiser

• Video report by Caroline Lewis

A much-loved therapy pony in Guernsey has received lifesaving medical treatment after the community rallied to get her help.

Dolly the miniature Shetland pony has been offering support to islanders both young and old for just over two years visiting the hospital, care homes, schools and clubs.

But when her health began to deteriorate, it was Dolly that needed help.

"It was horrible because I could see that she wasn't very happy and you could see that it was getting worse. It's horrible knowing that she's not feeling well", said Dolly's owner Sophie Veron.

After some tests it was discovered Dolly had an abscess on her tooth which was stopping her from eating. Without treatment, her prognosis was bleak.

Miss Veron added: "Because she's so small and she's still quite young, it's a tricky operation to take the tooth out and fix the sinus, so we had to wait for the specialist vet to come over from the UK."

But the bill for the operation and getting a specialist in from the UK was going to cost thousands of pounds, so Miss Veron turned to the community for help.

She said: "One of my friends suggested it. She said so many people love Dolly, and she does so much for the community that it might be good to do a crowdfunding page.

"I thought, I've never done anything like that before, but we started a page and it just snowballed. The response was just unbelievable. Thank you just doesn't seem enough."

Under heavy sedation, Dolly had her tooth removed and a hole drilled in her head to drain the fluid.

She has since made a full recovery and is back in her paddock.

Miss Veron says she hopes Dolly will be back out in the community soon.