Four-month old Raisin is as spirited and energetic as you would expect a puppy to be.

Eastern Daily Press: Raisin the dog who needs heart surgery. Picture: Antony KellyRaisin the dog who needs heart surgery. Picture: Antony Kelly (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

But the dachshund and chihuahua blend's energy hides a life-threatening ailment.

The tiny pup has a stage five heart murmur and requires emergency surgery.

Now her owner, Claire Miller, who lives in Drayton, is faced with raising £4,000 by Monday if she wants to Raisin to have life-saving surgery.

Claire said: 'She was sick two Fridays back, and I took her to the vets and to a cardiac specialist.

Eastern Daily Press: Raisin the dog who needs heart surgery. Pictured with owner Claire Miller. Picture: Antony KellyRaisin the dog who needs heart surgery. Pictured with owner Claire Miller. Picture: Antony Kelly (Image: Archant Norfolk 2016)

'It was all very quick from there, they took her in for a scan and said that it will be October 31 that she goes into surgery.

'They said that she won't live to a year without surgery, I thought that I'd have a few weeks or a month or something to figure it out and decide what to do about it.

'It's really horrible to think I don't know what's going to happen to her even in four or five days time.'

The disease is called Patent Ductus Arteriosus, and means that her heart has an extra vessel keeping blood from her lungs.

The surgery costs upwards of £4,000 as Raisin has no insurance, which Raisin was not eligible for due to her condition.

Miss Miller has set up a GoFundMe to help raise the cash needed for Raisin's procedure.

She said: 'It sounds a bit trite, but I think that she found us; there aren't as many people that would be as willing to have the surgery or give her the home she has.

'Everywhere we go people adore her, I can't walk her down the road for five minutes without people stopping me and asking if she's real and if they can pet her.'

Family and friends are using the hashtag #RaisinforRaisin, and the GoFundMe link is www.gofundme.com/raisin-for-raisin-2vmr3kkw

The condition

Patent Ductus Arteriosus occurs when a vessel in the heart that is normal for growing fetuses does not close.

The vessel connects different parts of the heart for blood to bypass the lungs while a fetus is in the womb. As the fetus grows, the vessel closes so that the lungs can form.

Vets believe Raisin was born prematurely, so the extra vessel never fully closed.

The normal surgery for dogs with Raisin's condition would go through the femoral artery and block off the additional vessel. But due to her size, the vets will likely have to open Raisin up.

Because her heart is so engorged, the vets are not certain how they will block the vessel so that blood flows normally through the heart and to the lungs.