Edinburgh couple in 'desperate' plea to fund scan for puppy with possible brain abnormality

A COUPLE have launched a heartwarming fundraising campaign to help finance a scan to diagnose a potential neurological disorder in their young pup.

Six month old Simba may be suffering from a neurological condition

Brian and Julie-Ann Steel initially thought an ‘injury’ suffered by six month old Simba had been caused by falling off a sofa at their home in Wester Hailes.

However, they have now been told the “happy and people loving” pug could be suffering from a brain abnormality - requiring an MRI scan to fully diagnose.

Insurers PetPlan told the couple they would be unable to pay out on the condition as it was not a physical ailment.

Six month old Simba may be suffering from a neurological condition

They have since opened a page on crowdfunding website GoFundMe in an attempt to help cover the £3,500 cost to help finance the check up.

Labourer Brian, 48, told the Evening News: “It could be something that gets better, it could be managed, but right now, we just don’t know until he gets the scan.”

“It is a torturous wait at the moment and the longer we leave it, the worse it is likely to get unfortunately.”

A video posted on the page shows the pup attempting to run around outside while awkwardly dragging its legs behind.

Brian said they had only noticed the pug had become “quite clumsy” over the past few weeks, adding they initially thought the issue was caused by an impact injury.

But he warned the true nature of the illness will not be known until the scan is completed.

He said: “The money we are trying to raise is just for the scan alone, the actual cost will likely be much higher than that as we have to get the neurologist to look at it and make a judgement.”

“After that, we can start looking at treatments, but at the moment we can’t do that, we can’t treat something when we don’t know what it is.”

The couple now face an anxious wait to discover if they will be able to fund the treatment as they continue to care for Simba and fellow pug Bambi.

Brian said: “Bambi is fine, she is a little older, but she is also from a different breeder. We’re hoping to sit down and have that conversation and find out if it something that could be inherited.”

“Simba is such a happy little pup, he loves people, I think he loves all the extra attention he is getting.”

He added: “We only really noticed he was getting a little bit clumsy recently. At this stage, we are just desperate to know what is wrong.”