KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — For the love of her pet dog, a woman in the UK sold her car and used part of her inheritance to pay for a life-saving operation for her chihuahua.
Jac Williams, 54, spent a total of £17,500 (RM94,828) on a heart operation to save her dog Louie’s life, Daily Mail reported.
To raise the amount, Williams sold her two-year-old Nissan Qashqai for £15,000 (RM81,281) and took the remaining £2,500 (RM13,552) from inheritance so Louie could have a mitral valve repair.
“The week before he went in for his surgery, there was a massive deterioration. His breathing was bad, and when I handed him over, I really didn’t expect to be getting him back again.”
“I knew the surgery was his only chance. I didn’t think he would come home,” said Williams, who is from Wareham, Dorset.
Louie’s condition was picked up by a cardiologist two years ago, before a routine teeth-cleaning.
Williams, a retired nurse, spent time researching Louie’s options, knowing that the specialised surgery was going to be expensive.
There are only three places in the world that perform the procedure Louie had to have: London, Cambridge and Japan.
“The surgeon said we had nothing to lose but a lot of money because he would die without it — probably by the end of the year.”
As she and her husband did not have pet insurance, they decided to take the financial risk themselves.
Since his surgery, Louie, who is 10-years-old, has recovered.
“His surgeon was very pleased with his progress. Everything is looking good and we can gradually start getting back to normal with exercise with another checkup in February,” she added.
