Millie Sent 475 Miles to Be Spayed
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — Millie the presidential spaniel made a brief and secret visit to a veterinarian to be spayed, it was reported Friday.
Millie, troubled by false pregnancies, was sent from the White House to the clinic of a Columbia veterinarian for the surgery about two weeks ago, television station WIS-TV said.
The White House did not want to put Millie’s difficulties in the media spotlight, so her Army veterinarian drove about 475 miles to Dr. Randy Basinger’s clinic, the station reported.
The English springer spaniel reportedly was kept overnight and driven back to Washington the next day.
Basinger declined to be interviewed by the station and said the White House had asked him not to talk about Millie, the mother of one litter of puppies.
Anna Perez, a White House spokeswoman, told the station, “She was spayed. This is a private matter . . . and a family matter. They don’t want to talk about it.”
The White House said Millie was not spayed at taxpayer expense, the station said.
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