Morecambe dog survives deadly infection thanks to blood donation

ITV Granada Reports correspondent Paul Crone went to meet Minnie and her owner.

A dog's life has been saved after her regular trip to donate blood uncovered a dangerous infection.

Minnie, a five-year-old Newfoundland from Morecambe, suffered with a gastric ulcer that eventually left her unable to eat.

Her owner, Victoria Webster, said: "She was anaemic. She was going rapidly downhill."

Luckily, her ulcer was spotted before any symptoms developed when she had her screening for a blood donation.

The vets at the blood bank were able to take care of Minnie, and arrange for her to have her own blood transfusion.

Victoria added: "She was going downhill so fast if she hadn’t had that she would have died.

"Once she had the transfusion she was recovering in a couple of days, eating her weight’s worth in chicken – there’s not a lot she won’t do for chicken"

Minnie had already donated blood four times, which has directly saved the lives of 16 other dogs.

Katie Douglas, who works at Pet Blood Bank, said: "Pet blood bank is a charity that provides a blood bank service for dogs.

"We work similar to a human blood bank and deliver blood to dogs across the country."

Dogs are able to donate blood once every eight weeks, and the process takes less than half an hour.

Katie said: "We take around 450ml of blood, and that takes around five to 10 minutes.

"They then go through to post-donation where they receive lots of cuddles and treats – they get their tea and biscuits and get their picture taken."

While Victoria and Minnie were already making regular trips to the blood bank, their close call with a dangerous infection has reminded them just how important the charity is.

"Any minor thing could lead to having to make that phone call so having them do this work is critical for ongoing pet health," Victoria said.

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