CHRISTMAS has come early for a blind dog with a new home and the return of his sight.

Hamish, a six-year-old King Charles Spaniel, was sent to the Oxfordshire Animal Sanctuary in Stadhampton because he did not get along with his owner’s cats.

At the sanctuary, vets discovered he was blind in his left eye, could hardly see in the other and needed a £4,000 cataract operation to restore his sight.

Following an appeal in the Oxford Mail in October, dog lover Lauren Dean offered him a home.

And thanks to £1,000 of public donations, topped up by £1,000 of sanctuary funds, Hamish has now had one eye operated on and is on the mend.

Miss Dean, who lives near Abingdon, is delighted with her new pet.

The 24-year-old, who works as a personal assistant near Witney, said: “I had a King Charles Spaniel called Tyler who looked just like him and he died in April.

“I didn’t want a puppy. I thought Hamish looked just like him.

“I’m partially sighted too, so we thought we would go and see him.

“I took him straight to Pets at Home for a wash and a haircut.

“He’s had an operation in one eye and he can see again, he can walk around things and he knows where you are so he’s not walking into things, and he knows where he’s going.

“Hopefully his sight will come back more and more.”

Miss Dean said there was only a slim chance the sight could be repaired in his other eye and the stress of an operation could be too much.

She said: “I think if cost was not an option then they would probably have tried to do his other eye, but it’s great for him being able to see with one.

“He’s doing really well and recovering really well.

“As soon as I got him home it was like he had never been away.”

Earlier this year, the 30-year-old sanctuary was on the verge of closing because of a funding crisis.

However, animal lovers have stepped forward and donated more than £90,000 to keep it afloat.

An Oxford house bequeathed to the sanctuary by a long-term supporter also went under the hammer last week, raising £450,000 which secured the home for another year.

Sanctuary trustee Charlie McCreedy said she hoped Hamish’s other eye might be operated on next year.

Miss Dean is already planning Hamish’s first holiday to France next year and has bought him his own Advent calendar for Christmas.

She added: “I’ve got another dog called Ralph and they are inseperable. They cuddle up together and go to sleep.”