‘He was there for me when I was ill, I had to be there for him’: Cancer survivor spends £14,000 to save life of her priceless pet dog

A CANCER survivor spent £14,000 to save the life of her 14-year-old dog after he helped her recover.

Suzie Sexton was determined to give Paddy every chance after he was hit by a car.

The Yorkshire terrier-poodle cross had been by her side during a long cancer battle.

Suzie, 53, said: “He’s always been there for me. I’d have spent whatever it took.

“I do love Paddy and couldn’t imagine not giving him a chance. He’s my baby.

“He’s given me 14 years of unconditional love so it was the least I could do to give him this chance.

“He looked after me when I had cancer so I couldn’t let him go.

“Every penny was worth it.”

Suzie inherited Paddy’s mum Penny when a friend couldn’t keep her any longer. And when Penny had pups, Suzie fell for the runt of the litter and kept him.

The accident happened when Suzie and a friend were on a shopping trip in August. She opened the door to speak to someone and Paddy jumped out and ran across the car park.

“My friend saw him go under this 4×4 that was reversing,” said former bar worker Suzie.

“She ran across and shouted at me. I panicked, it was just horrible.

“There was blood everywhere and his leg was all mangled. He was in a terrible state and I really feared the worst.

“We scooped him up and took him to our local vets in Motherwell.”

Paddy was given initial treatment there and was then transferred to the Vets Now hospital in Glasgow where he stayed for eight days of expert care and treatment.

Suzie, from New Stevenston, Lanarkshire, was told there may be internal injuries as well as the horrendous obvious damage.

Having pulled through that first night, he then faced a lengthy – and costly – battle back to health.

“Paddy came to us in quite a state,” said Vets Now surgical nurse Steven Murphy.

“On top of the three surgical procedures he needed, he’s had to endure multiple sedations and bandage changes.

“But over the months he has shown what a brave and strong dog he is.”

Such was the extent of Paddy’s injuries he had to make repeated visits, including skin grafts.

“I thought he was going to lose his leg, but the staff at the hospital have been amazing for Paddy and everybody there loves him now. I can’t thank them enough.”

“When I got him home he was obviously traumatised as he’d never been apart from me before.

“I stayed up with him that whole first night, just cuddling him to reassure him that everything was going to be okay.”

Suzie was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2010 and had surgery the following year. That was followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

The companionship of Paddy was invaluable for keeping her spirits up.

The vets bill came to £14,000 and Suzie had just £1,000 of insurance cover. So she turned to her local credit union for a £13,000 loan.

“Not giving him a chance of the treatment just wasn’t an option. He was always there for me,” said Suzie.

“I know it’s a lot of money for an old dog but the work the vets did was amazing and it’s worth every penny.”

Paddy has a final check-up next month but, other than a slight limp, vets are happy he’s made an excellent recovery.