Millie’s Christmas gift... £39,000 stem cell cancer op
A PET dog given six months to live is on the road to recovery after her doting owners spent their £39,000 life savings on pioneering stem cell therapy.
The treatment for cancer was so successful that Millie the cocker-spaniel was back home for Christmas with Serena Gannon-lodge and her husband Andrew.
The British couple did not think twice about using the cash they had saved to buy a home in San Francisco, where they had moved from London last year.
Serena, herself a vet, said: “Millie means everything to us.we would sell everything we have for her treatment and for her to be happy.
“We have been saving for a house so we had the money and could afford to do it.”
The newlyweds were on honeymoon in Tanzania in July when Serena’s sister, who was dogsitting, noticed Millie had swollen glands.
Lymphoma was diagnosed and chemotherapy was started, but she was expected to live only for another four to six months. So the couple, both 32, contacted the North Carolina State Veterinary Hospital – the only place in the world to offer stem cell transplants for dogs.
Serena and Andrew could afford the £39,000 procedure but a donor was still needed. So they contacted Robert Alcock, 52, in Darwen, Lancashire, owner of Millie’s mother Coco.
Coco, eight, was found to be a match at odds of just one in four, and she was flown to America. Her healthy cells were extracted and transplanted into her daughter – making Coco the UK’S first stem cell donor dog.
Now mother and daughter have returned home and Millie is officially in remission.
Serena said: “It’s been very tough and emotionally draining but we were so happy to have her home for Christmas.
“She has to have regular check ups now to make sure the cancer is staying at bay, and we are just taking it day by day but we have our best friend back.”
Coco’s owner Robert said: “I would do the same for Coco if she was in this situation. A dog is part of your family and you love them the way you love your children.
“It only seemed right that I let Coco save her own daughter and I’m so happy to see Millie reunited with Serena and Andrew happy and healthy again.”