Pet dogs donate blood in first Horsham animal donor session

Vets at Medivet 24 Hour in Tower Road, Faygate, hailed the event a ‘huge success.’

They organised the dog blood donor session to ensure there were enough emergency blood supplies for poorly pets over the Christmas period.

Joanne Brain, from Horsham, was among those who took along their pets to donate blood. She said: “The reason we went along with our English Bull Terrier, Stan, is all because of our last dog - another English Bull Terrier called Frank.

“He unfortunately contracted a rare blood disease and needed a blood transfusion. Unfortunately though, Frank didn’t make it – and we lost him at just five-years-old.

“We all agreed that if by being here and giving blood Stan could prevent another family going through the ordeal that we went through then that would be a really good thing.”

A Medivet spokesman said: “Dogs can need blood transfusions during surgery or following an accident.

“They have different blood types, just like humans, which means veterinary practices need a variety of breeds to donate.”

The blood donor session was run by Medivet’s in-house blood donation service, VetBlood - a not-for-profit organisation which saves lives of seriously ill dogs by supplying blood products to veterinary practices throughout the country.