Buster – In Foster – South East
Welcome Buster to the Springboard Family
This announcement is different from anything we usually share… because today, we are fighting for a life.
Please meet Buster, a 6-year-old entire boy who came into our care after his owners made the bravest, most heartbreaking decision they have ever faced. His family had already suffered a great personal loss before having to make the devastating choice to surrender him, and they did so with Buster’s welfare firmly at heart. As always, we ask for kindness and no judgement.
Buster was collected yesterday by our wonderful volunteer Eleni and is now safe in foster in the South East and his new fur foster brother, Brisket. But the moment we looked into his eyes, we knew something was terribly wrong.
The pain and sorrow in his eyes is absolutely heartbreaking. This is a boy who has been suffering for far too long.
We rushed him straight to our vets in Solihull.
What they found left us devastated.
Buster is battling severe ear infections in both ears, alongside incredibly painful interdigital cysts and badly infected paws — described by the vet as the worst he has ever seen. Every step hurts. Every moment hurts.
On top of this, Buster has torn his back right cruciate ligament and has also damaged his left hip from trying to cope with the injury.
A cruciate rupture is not just a limp — it means the knee is unstable, every movement is painful, and walking, standing, or even lying down becomes a struggle. Without surgery, this kind of injury can lead to permanent lameness, severe arthritis, and lifelong pain. Buster has been forcing his body to cope, and it has already begun to break down.
As if this wasn’t enough, the vet also discovered a lump near his rear end. While we are incredibly relieved that it is not cancer, it is yet another issue that will need monitoring and care.
This poor boy is living in relentless, constant pain. No dog should have to endure what he has been carrying in silence.
Buster has been sent home with two different types of antibiotics for his feet and skin, antibiotic ear drops, and two different forms of pain relief to try to keep him as comfortable as possible. He will be reviewed again in one week’s time. But the vet has been heartbreakingly honest with us: after everything Buster has suffered, even with surgery and extensive treatment, his future quality of life is uncertain.
That truth breaks our hearts.
But Buster’s quality of life is our absolute priority, and we will do everything in our power to help him. He deserves the chance to know comfort. He deserves to know what it feels like to live without pain.
We urgently need your help — right now.
Buster’s cruciate surgery alone is estimated at £2,000, and this is only one part of the treatment he desperately needs. Without support, his road to recovery is frighteningly limited.
Please help us help Buster.
If you can donate, share, or simply help spread his story, you are giving this boy something he has been deprived of for far too long — hope.
Buster is finally safe.
He is finally being listened to.
And with your support, we can fight to give him comfort, dignity, and the chance of a life free from pain — something every dog deserves.
Thank you for standing with us… and with Buster
