Family dog dies from smoker’s LUNG CANCER due to gran’s 30-a-day ciggie habit

Heather Goddard, 61, rushed her beloved pet to the vet when the canine collapsed at her home in Seaton Delaval, Northumberland.

But when medics investigated the cause of eight-year-old Clover's ill health they made a shocking discovery - the dog had lung cancer.

Mrs Goddard and her husband Keith, 67, were devastated when they were told that their smoking habit had caused Clover's disease.

Vets said that nothing more could be done for her and Clover had to be put down.

Mrs Goddard said: "Knowing my smoking was to blame was like somebody had just put a bullet into my heart. 

"It was a nightmare that had come true.

"Clover was a lovely dog. She was friendly and there wasn’t a bad bone in her body."

Mrs Goddard, who also has another dog, two cats and a rabbit, said that she had no idea Clover was ill until she collapsed as the family took her for a walk in the park.

Along with Mr Goddard, she has now quit the fags and is working to raise awareness of the dangers of passive smoking.

She said: "I think I would have tried to give up earlier if I had known the damage it was doing to my animals. 

"As long as the animals were fed I would be happy to go without food but I had to have my cigarettes.

"I didn’t connect passive smoking with animals. You don’t realise how much of it they are taking in. 

"My grandchildren are only here once or twice a week but our pets are with us 24 hours a day, 365 days a year."

Mrs Goddard is now urging all pet owners to think about the safety of their treasured animals before lighting up.

She said: "I would tell anyone who smokes and had animals to think twice. I know how difficult it is to give up but they need to think about their animals. 

"Don't give up trying even if you have two cigarettes less a day." 

Mrs Goddard, a mother-of-three and grandmother-of-eight, added that her family have also felt the benefits of her giving up smoking – although she does now suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from years of cigarettes.

She said: "I feel a lot healthier now I have stopped smoking. I can walk to the end of the path without getting as out of breath and I don't use my inhalers as much.

"My grandchildren tell me they are glad I stopped smoking because I don't smell of smoke anymore.

"It was easier than I thought but that was because I got the kick up the backside I needed."

Katie McConnell, the president of the British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) last year warned of the dangers to pets of passive smoking.

She said: "The potential detrimental effects of smoking on our pets are of great concern. 

"Animals may be exposed to these toxins not only in the air but also through grooming, as nicotine levels have been shown to be higher in the hair coats of animals exposed to tobacco smoke."

Shockingly around 85 per cent of second-hand smoke can be invisible and odourless.