A dog which saved another animal’s life is looking for a new home this Christmas.
Pablo the greyhound donated blood for a poorly terrier called Tim, who was found to be dangerously anaemic.
Tim went to Wensleydale Vets, near Leyburn, after his owners noticed he was quite lethargic and off his food
Vet Becky Baxter said: “His heart rate was very high for the fit little terrier he is and his gums were pale so we decided to take a blood sample.
“The blood sample showed him to be dangerously anaemic, meaning he had very low red blood cell count.
“It was surprising that Tim had braved his way to this level.
“But the suspicion became that this had been going on slowly over some time, so his body had learned to cope with the diminishing number of red blood cells.”
Further in-house testing revealed that Tim’s own immune system was attacking his red blood cells.
It was a race between the treatment and the disease that was killing him.
The next day the vets became worried that Tim’s red blood cell count was so low that he was about to suffer irreversible organ damage, so they looked for a blood donor.
Becky said greyhounds made the best blood donors because of there breed predisposition to a higher red blood cell count.
“The interesting thing in dogs is that we do not need to type match their blood on the first transfusion so it was Tim’s best chance.”
Pablo, a four year-old former racing greyhound, is being looked after by Saving Yorkshire’s Dogs (SYD), a charity which finds new homes for dogs that are no longer wanted or can’t be cared for by their owners.
The charity’s Heather Cameron said Pablo has been with volunteer-run SYD for a year.
Pablo went to Wensleydale Vets for his booster injection and stayed for the day to donate blood for Tim.
Becky added: “Pablo was fantastic.
“He waited patiently and steady while we fussed around him and took his blood. He received a very well deserved meal afterwards.
“Tim has really turned a corner and he is improving every day. I don’t think we would have had the same success story without Pablo’s brave donation.”
Pablo is still looking for a new home.
Heather added: “He had his tail amputated as it was damaged.
“He is very friendly dog but can’t live with cats or small children as he is very lively when he plays and would knock them over.”
For more information, contact SYD here.
