Wigan dog hailed a hero after giving blood to save a fellow pet

Labradoodle Cora has been donating blood for two years, to help dogs having surgery or other medical care.

Her owner Derek Willey was delighted to hear that a recent donation went straight to Bridget, a 10-year-old Shorkie with complications from diabetes.

Bridget was being treated in the same veterinary centre holding a Pet Blood Bank donation session and Cora’s blood proved vital in saving her life.

Derek, who lives in Wigan, said: “We are so proud of her. A lot of people said they didn’t know there was such a thing as a blood bank for dogs or animals in general. This is the first time I have heard of a direct story like this and it’s saved another dog’s life.

"We are just so pleased that we took up the idea of the transfusions and can see the good work that Cora has done coming to fruition.”

Eight-year-old Cora joined the Willey family from a rescue in Scotland. She was one of 13 puppies and had to be revived at birth, but has since gone from strength to strength.

Derek saw an advert for the Pet Blood Bank on social media and got in touch to find out more, with Cora donating every eight weeks since.

He said: “This particular time we went to give the donation, came home and were settling down for the night when I got a missed call from the Pet Blood Bank. I wondered what was going on.

"When I got back in touch, they said there were no problems, but they had rushed another dog in and this dog was very poorly and could have died. When they put it on the system to check for donations and who would match, it pinged and they found there was a match in the room next-door.

"They gave the blood transfusion to the little dog and it survived and it seems to be doing well. We even met up last week.”

Bridget had become seriously ill, suffering from a bleeding ulcer and anaemia, and desperately needed the transfusion.

Her owner Martyn Rogers said: “It is very hard to express how grateful I am to Cora and her owners for facilitating her blood donation. It is immeasurable. I will always be in gratitude to Cora and her family.”

Derek, 55, now wants other dogs to follow in the footsteps of Cora and become blood donors, so more lives can be saved.

He takes Cora and his other Labradoodle Bailey to Ellesmere Port every weeks, where they are given a local anaesthetic and the blood is taken, in a process which takes around 30 minutes.

Grandfather Derek said: “It’s something a lot of people don’t think about. They don’t realise animals need blood donations when they have accidents or operations.

"It doesn’t just save the animal’s life, it can save people’s lives because they are like family.

"We are so pleased to be involved.”

Dogs aged one to eight, weighing more than 25kg, who are confident and enjoy meeting new people, can become blood donors.

Donation sessions are held at Vets4Pets in Leigh and other centres in the North West.

To find out more, visit www.petbloodbankuk.org