A DOG which gave comfort to hundreds of cancer sufferers in their darkest hours is now suffering from the same disease.

Holly, a four-year-old Golden Retriever, has become a regular visitor to the Robert Ogden Macmillan Centre at St James's University Hospital in Leeds, where her owner, Dorothy Lambeth, works.

Mrs Lambeth, 44, of North Duffield, near Selby, started taking Holly to work with her to help patients come to terms with their illness.

"Pets are known to have a therapeutic effect on patients with a serious illness and they loved to stroke and pet Holly," said Mrs Lambeth, a Macmillan nurse who manages the cancer information and support centre at St James's.

But she and her patients were devastated when Holly was recently diagnosed with lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph glands. The beloved pet was given just six weeks to live, but has now been given a new lease of life after being referred to the Animal Health Trust at Newmarket. The trust has a specialist centre for small animals and Holly is undergoing intensive chemotherapy.

Mrs Lambeth said Holly was now almost in full remission and could live up to another two years.

She said: "The amount of support she has received has been phenomenal, both from volunteers and patients at the Macmillan centre in Leeds. Get well wishes have flooded in and people are always asking me about Holly's progress.

"When she was a regular visitor, patients loved to pet and feed her - and Holly lapped it up.

"We love her to bits and she's spoiled something rotten."

Updated: 10:59 Friday, August 31, 2001