Holly was born on 24 October 2020. She was the only yellow Labrador in her litter and was the last to be born. She weighed significantly less than her littermates, at just 1kg.  A few weeks after birth, her breeder noticed that she wasn't developing like her littermates. At one month, she was unable to stand or walk and would fall mainly on her left side.  She was managing to correct her position and to wag her tail.  Abnormalities in her vision were also detected especially in her left eye. At this stage her prognosis was undetermined and she was monitored to see how well she would continue to develop.  

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Holly's life would have been as a working dog, but due to her difficulties her breeders knew that life wasn't for her so they sought assistance from the Labrador UK Action Group (LUKAG), to see whether the charity would be able to find Holly a home. It was agreed that LUKAG would take Holly into their care to assess her.