A desperate dog owner from Manchester is appealing to the public to help fund research into the cause of her beloved pup’s unexplained seizures.
Morgan Dale and her blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier named Hugo have an incredible bond.
Not only is he her cherished pet, but she also credits him for saving her life by pulling her back from the brink following a suicide attempt. Now, Morgan is trying to return the favour and get her poorly pup the help he needs after he suffered some “terrifying” seizures – something vets are aiming to get to the bottom of.
Two-year-old Hugo’s seizures started a few weeks ago, and then more recently, he had two in the space of four hours.
He is currently being treated for possible epilepsy, but Morgan has been told that it could potentially be a brain tumour and this is something she won’t know until an investigative MRI has been carried out alongside an Ultrasound scan on his heart and other internal organs.
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But this costs money – and it’s a lot more than is currently covered by Morgan’s insurance.
“I genuinely think without Hugo, I would not be here [and] I say this all the time [but] this dog saved my life,” Morgan told Team Dogs.
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Hugo has suffered some “terrifying” seizures over the past few weeks / Credit: Morgan Dale
Fearing that she may have to give her pup up for adoption if she is unable to find the funds for the scans, Morgan has set up a GoFundMe page with the target of raising £2,000 and is asking anybody who can spare a few pounds to consider donating towards Hugo’s treatment.
“He’s just not the same dog,” Morgan added.
“He’s just really sad, he seems depressed [and] he just constantly wants to just chill.
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“Obviously after the seizures as well, he was absolutely terrified. He doesn’t know who I am, he wouldn’t let me near him. He was running away from me, hiding. He was just absolutely terrified and it was traumatic, traumatic for me and him.”
Having contacted various charities, Morgan now faces losing precious Hugo for good as if she cannot raise enough money to fund his MRI, she will have no choice but to sign him over to a charity that is able to pay for treatment.
Morgan Dale and her blue Staffy named Hugo share an incredible bond / Credit: Morgan Dale
Morgan continued: “Basically, once I sign that paperwork, I’ll never see him ever again [so] I just hope to god that I can get it so that he can stay with me, because I don’t want to stress him out.
“I just love him so much… and I just couldn’t imagine being without him.”
If you would like to contribute to Hugo’s treatment costs and help reach the £2,000 target, you can donate via Morgan’s GoFundMe page here.
Featured Image – Morgan Dale
UK News
Rare picture of David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport unearthed
Danny Jones
A rare picture taken from the night of the late, great David Bowie’s legendary one-off gig in Stockport has been unearthed by a local whilst digging through his loft.
Imagine having that kind of history just squirrelled away in an attic…
As revealed by Stockport Music Story, after being supplied with the image by David Maynard, the snap was shared more than half a century on from the much-mythologised moment in Greater Manchester music history.
In fact, it was put on display and posted on social media quite literally 56 years to the day since Bowie played his only Stopfordian set on 27 April, 1970.
Maynard himself is featured in the newly discovered photograph (second from the left) and was one of the select and lucky few who were in the room for that very special show.
Organised by a group of teens on behalf of the Stockport Schools’ Students’ Union, the performance took place at the long-gone Poco a Poco music venue and club over in Heaton Chapel.
The storied space hosted many big names over the years – Gerry Marsden, Freddie Starr, Hank Marvin and more – but sadly closed in May of 1987 following a fire.
It went on to become the popular Hinds Head pub, which still serves punters to this day, but once had the honour of hosting a true artistic great and British icon.
For anyone wondering, this is indeed the same night on which David Robert Jones (yes, that’s Bowie‘s full birth name) missed his train home and had to sleep on the railway platform.
Here’s a BBC segment covering the tale back on its 55th anniversary in April 2025.
It may be a small and somewhat curious claim to fame, but native love the legend of it all nonetheless.
As for the other individuals pictured alongside him, Stockport Music Story (SMS) said: “The names of the people we know are David Maynard (2nd left), Roz Wood (3rd left), David Bowie, Bill Frost (2nd right), Stewart Rigby (right).”
They go on to add: “It would be amazing to find out who the other people in the photograph are and what they remember from that night.” We sincerely hope they do.
You can now see the plaque up close and personal at Stockport Station for yourselves and as for SMS’s growing archive of the region’s creative culture, you can find out tonnes more about other pieces of SK heritage right HERE.
Featured Images — David Maynard via Stockport Music Story/Stockport Council
UK News
Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua fight FINALLY booked
Danny Jones
It seems like it’s official: Tyson Fury is finally set to fight Anthony Joshua – and it sounds like it’s happening this year.
Put it this way, it better be worth all the hype after all this time.
Arguably one of the most anticipated all-British bouts of the last few decades, the boxing match between Fury and Joshua is one that fight fans, and even those only occasionally interested in the sport, have been waiting to be booked for ages.
It got to a point where we almost started to think we’d never get to see it come to fruition whatsoever, but now promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that it’s all locked in.
As you can see, putting things in the simplest terms possible, the Matchroom Boxing boss said on social media: “Signed, sealed, delivered! AJ v Fury is on!”
This comes after a previous post, in which he wrote: “The biggest piece of business we’ve ever done, but more importantly, the one we’ve always wanted.
“Biggest year of AJ’s career coming up, the comeback is on.”
Tagging the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA) and co-founder of Zuffa Boxing, Turki Al-Sheikh, the government official looks to have recently held a major event in which he hosted several big sporting names.
It was already heavily expected that any potential clash would take place in the Middle East, and it now looks like nailed on that it will be part of the country’s annual ‘Riyadh Season’.
Although things have been relatively tight-lipped on Fury‘s side, ‘The Gypsy King’ did share a little reaction of his own online…
Still more of a teaser on his end than full verification, we hope they’re not going to lead us down the garden path on this one; boxing heads have waited long enough for this one.
The 37-year-old Manchester-born boxer returned to the ring after yet ANOTHER ‘retirement’ earlier this month, winning comfortably against Arslanbek Makhmudov.
Meanwhile, Joshua, now 36, will be making his own comeback of sorts against Kristian Prenga on July 25 – this will also be taking place in Riyadh.
Emily Sergeant -
24th June 2021 
