A DISABLED pensioner has made a heartfelt plea for somebody to give her beloved pet a home because she can't look after him any more.

Margaret Becket, 72, of Church, suffers from emphysema and is unable to give her six-year-old pedigree Maltese dog Oscar the care he deserves.

"He deserves to go to a good, loving home rather than sticking with an old woman like me," she said.

Mrs Becket said that Oscar was a mild-mannered, loving pooch who would be excellent around children and other animals.

The former community nurse said she bought him from a Blackburn breeder when he was just a puppy and he has been by her side ever since.

Mrs Becket, of Church Bank, Church, said she suffers from severe back problems brought on by years of lifting patients in and out of beds and she finds it extremely difficult to get about. She said it was not an easy decision, but it was one she had to make.

"I love him to pieces and I will really miss him, it will be heartbreaking. But we have to be brave, it's something that I have to do.

"I can't look after him anymore. It's getting difficult for me to look after myself. I have emphysema and a bad back.

"I used to be a community nurse and I would visit ill people in their own homes, because of this I would have to lift them in and out of bed. Nine times out of ten I would be on my own.

"Nowadays that wouldn't be allowed, with all the manual lifting rules, but then it was. I also had to retire from work 10 years ago because of a heart condition.

"And now being 72 I'm getting too old to look after Oscar. He's a proper pedigree white Maltese dog - he deserves somebody younger who can give him the proper love he deserves."

If anyone would like to give Oscar a loving home, they can contact Mrs Becket on 01254 390960.