New drive to sign up canine donors in bid to save pets' lives

Published on Monday 22 June 2009 10:04

CAMPAIGNS stressing the urgent need for more people to spare a little time to donate blood, and potentially save lives, are not out of the ordinary.

But a new campaign has been launched in the Lothians which requires donors to be that little bit special – and have four legs and a tail.

The scheme has been launched following a dog owner's struggle to find a donor for his sick pet.

Jeremy Stockton's beloved dog Tess desperately needed a blood donation but he was shocked to find that there was none available in Scotland.

Instead, vets had to fight against the clock to have the blood flown up from England.

Now Jeremy, from East Calder, and Lamond Vets in Livingston have started a drive to persuade dog owners in the Lothians to donate blood.

At present, it is mainly working dogs, such as police dogs and search and rescue dogs, who donate blood in emergencies. There is one canine blood bank in Glasgow, but it is often low in supplies.

Jeremy, 41, a freelance photographer, said Tess owed her life to a canine blood donor. The four-year-old springer spaniel has now made a full recovery after falling ill last June.

He said: "At first I thought she just had a cold, but it turned out she had a rare form of anaemia. They tried giving her fake blood at first, but then they asked me to drive to Glasgow to get blood, as there were no supplies in Edinburgh. Unfortunately there was none available. The only alternative was to get blood flown up from Loughborough, in England.

"We finally got it at 11:30pm. If it had been any later, Tess might not have survived. Basically that was keeping her alive while we tried to get her immune system to stop rejecting her own blood.

"At the time Tess could hardly lift her head, but now she's back to her normal bouncy self. I can't praise the vets enough."

Now he and the vets are urging dog owners to consider letting their pets donate. At first, all the blood will be stored in Glasgow, but they want to eventually set up a bank in the Lothians.

He added: "It's a bit like a human blood transfusion service. We'd like to encourage as many vets as possible to help. This could help save a lot more dogs."

Lamond Vets has already gathered four signatures on its blood donor register for dogs over the past month.

Veterinary nurse at Lamond Vets, Caroline Dick, 26, said: "It just involves the dog coming in for a health check and giving a blood sample to determine which blood group they are.

"If a dog needs a transfusion in the practice, we will phone up one of the dog owners on the register and take a blood donation.

"We are hoping to get about 12 or so names on the register."

Mrs Dick added: "This certainly could be a lifesaver.

"Tess's condition meant that her body did not recognise her own blood cells and started to destroy them. It might not have been such a happy ending for Tess if we were not able to get the blood."

Dogs added to the register must be over 25 kilos and between the ages of one and eight. They must also be fit, healthy and of a good nature.