LINDA Lusardi has shared her fresh heartache as her beloved dog Dexter has passed away – just weeks after her own brush with death.
The veteran Page 3 model, 61, was pictured recovering at home with her dog after spending ten days in hospital with coronavirus.
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But now Linda has been hit with more tragedy as her dog suffered an injury to his spinal cord during an operation and had to be put down.
Earlier this week she told fans on Instagram: "It’s with a heavy heart I have to tell you Dexter was put to sleep this morning.
"He had a problem with his spine and after an operation that we thought would cure him he developed Myelopathy with no cure.
"We will miss our little man so much."
Just weeks ago when Linda returned home from hospital, Dexter was there to give her cuddles in bed as she recuperated from the deadly virus.
And so the grief has hit her hard, and she admitted: "God I miss my baby Dexter so much. Can’t believe he’s gone."
Last week, Linda's husband Sam Kane revealed he thought she was "dead" when he saw her in intensive care.
Linda's husband Sam, 51, got coronavirus last month and Linda caught it while nursing him.
The pair were rushed to hospital together in the same ambulance and then she spent 10 nights fighting the deadly bug.
Once at the hospital the couple were separated and Sam was sent home after three days.
"Having to leave her there was terrible," he said.
"I went into meltdown thinking I would never see my wife again."
Sam was finally allowed to visit his wife but what he saw shook him to the core.
"When I walked through the door I thought she was gone, she looked like she was dead."
The couple are now recovering at home and Linda became very emotional as she talked about her recovery to Lorraine on Good Morning Britain.
"The doctor said to me you're 61 and we don't know what we're dealing with here and you might not make it," she said.
Linda revealed her poor son Jack, 20 had to see both of his parents being taken away in the ambulance "not knowing if we would ever come back".
Sam added: "It was so much stress and the kids didn't want to let us know how scared they were which was terrifying."
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Linda thanked nurses Eric and Sue who offered her words of encouragement that made all the difference telling her: "Pull yourself together girl, you can do it."
She was discharged from hospital three weeks ago after her tough coronavirus battle left her at "death's door".
Sam told fans she finally returned home on March 29 after first revealing her ill health on March 19.
Linda said that the couple are still recovering at home and being forced to take it easy.
"We're walking around like old people we don't have a lot of capacity in our lungs," she said.
"I run down to get a cup of tea and I'm out of breath."
Last month, Sam told his social media followers: "So blessed to be spending tonight with my beautiful girl at home by my side. God bless the NHS. So happy to have her home. @lusardiofficial #StayAtHomeAndStaySafe."
He was flooded with well-wishes from pals, with Strictly's Kristina Rihanoff saying: "Mate so happy you are both doing better. Load of love from our family."
Another added: "Fabulous news x speedy recovery to you both x some great news at last xx."
Someone else said: "This is the best news! So happy for you all. Well done Linda you little fighter X."
Linda relied on oxygen and a drip after being hospitalised with the deadly bug.
Sam was also admitted, but sent home to recover days later. He has been regularly sharing updates and urging people to take the self isolation rules seriously.
He said: "I can’t stress enough that this is not ‘just a flu bug’. I’ve watched this take my girl to death’s door.
"I’ve felt it take me there. It’s a cruel, vile, remorseless, relentless, dark sickness. It was like three hands. One that’s strangling you. One pushing your face down as it does. The other one ripping your heart out of your chest and it just doesn’t stop… for days'.
"Please stop going out. Passing this around will mean it just takes longer till we’re back to normal. Please stay safe people."
In 1998, Linda married actor Sam and they have two children, son Jack and daughter Lucy.
Linda was once a regular on the Loose Women panel and also appeared on Dancing On Ice in 2008, finishing in sixth place.
The Londoner became a household name thanks to her modelling in the Seventies and Eighties and in 2005 was voted the UK’s most popular Page 3 girl ever.
In 2018, she stripped off to mark her 60th birthday nearly four decades since she first appeared in The Sun.
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