Dolly-Ann Osterloh throwing open doors of her London flat in last-ditch attempt to pay for life-saving surgery for pet Snoopy

A dog owner is selling everything she owns to help pay for a £37,000 life-saving operation for her beloved pet.

Dolly-Ann Osterloh, 32, is opening up her flat in Paddington, west London, to the public for 24 hours from 9pm on Friday, and inviting them to make an offer for any of her possessions.

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She hopes the sale, which people will also be able to participate in via a livestream offering online payment, will raise enough money for Snoopy to undergo pioneering heart surgery in Paris this month.

“You can buy anything you see,” she told the Guardian. “My clothes, my furniture, my makeup, even the lock on my door if you wish … except my dog. There will be a price for everything, people can look into my cupboard and say: ‘I want your salt and pepper.’ I will be OK without salt and pepper for a month.”

She got Snoopy, a yorkie-chi, from a shelter in the US nine years ago. He had been found in a dustbin after being abandoned by a family after Christmas. Over the years he has featured in photographs with Osterloh, a former actor turned interior designer, alongside the likes of Stephen Hawking, the author Richard Dawkins and the musician Brian May.

Last month she took Snoopy to be assessed after he developed breathing difficulties, and he was diagnosed with mitral valve disease. Osterloh was told there was no cure but chanced upon a Facebook page with details of a pioneering treatment said to be able to fully restore the health of dogs with the disease.

The catch was the cost and the requirement that it be paid in cash. Osterloh says she has raised the bulk of the fee through savings, a bank loan, donations from friends and family and a Gofundme campaign, but is still £9,000 short. She hopes that selling her possessions will help her reach the target.

“Snoopy means the world to me, he’s just like a family member,” Osterloh said. “There’s nothing more valuable to me – all these material things don’t really mean anything to me compared to my dog.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Pioneering treatment to save Snoopy costs £37,000.

She said her pet provided her with the only emotional support she had, even though she has a partner who created a video game called Snoopy’s Big Heart to help raise awareness of mitral valve disease, a common condition in small dogs.

“I argue with my partner but I never argue with my dog,” she said.

Snoopy is about nine years old and Osterloh, who describes herself and her partner as the dog’s parents, believes he could live for another nine years if he undergoes the operation, which is pencilled in for 19 September.

She admitted some trepidation about throwing open the doors of her flat to all and sundry, but said raising money to save Snoopy’s life was her priority.

Osterloh, who said she was vegan, but “not one who waves placards in the street”, accepted some people would not understand the lengths she was going to and the money she was prepared to spend to save her dog, but said they would understand if they were in her position.

“People will do anything for their dogs,” she said. “There’s nothing material that can reach the bond with a dog.”