When will dogs cease filling us with joy? When will they stop amazing us with their feats and shows of compassion and loyalty?
The answer (incase anyone needed it) is never, of course.
Our furry fiends are, simply, amazing. No, I’m not biased in anyway. I am in a dog-loving mood, however, after hearing a story concerning a mama dog who is travelling from Lancashire, England, to the U.S. to save the life of one of her own puppies.
According to reports, a cocker spaniel named Coco is set to make the journey to take part in a pioneering stem cell treatment.
Millie, one of Coco’s puppies, was born six years ago in the UK. She ended up moving some 4,000 miles to a new home in California with her new family but was recently diagnozed with cancer.
Millie’s only shot at survival is through a rare stem cell transplant not yet available in the UK. Since it can only be performed at one US hospital, Coco and her owner, Robert Alcock, 52, travelled from their home to North Carolina on Wednesday.
Coco’s owners, Serena and Andrew Lodge, of San Francisco, are funding the cost of the trip, with the transplant set to be performed this Sunday at the NC State Veterinary Hospital.
Weekend procedure
The procedure will involve taking healthy blood stem cells from Coco’s bone marrow and injecting them into Millie.
Coco’s owner, Robert, said: “Serena and Andrew started chemo on Millie three months ago but they’ve been told the only chance they’ll have of curing her is if they find a positive donor so she can have a transplant.
“They contacted us, and we sent some blood samples for testing, along with samples from one of Coco’s other pups.
“They both came back positive, but because Coco is Millie’s mother the vet said she would be a better match.”
He continued: “The Lodges have paid for everything, and I didn’t like to ask how much the operation is costing but I think it will be in the thousands.
“We will be in America for about a week. Coco will go into hospital on Sunday for the procedure and then the cells will be donated on Monday.”
As per reports, Andrew and Serena have been warned that even if the operation is a success, there is only a 50 percent chance Millie will be cured of the cancer.
Robert explained: “If it was a human then the chances of survival would be really good. But this is a pioneering procedure, they haven’t done very many of these transplants before, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
We’re sending all our luck and well wishes in Millie’s direction! We pray the procedure goes to plan and that both dogs recover well.
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