Meet Biscuit, a beloved Cocker Spaniel owned by Sheena and Jamie.
Biscuit has von Williebrand disease, an inherited condition where the blood cannot clot properly. Because of this, her owners were hesitant to have her spayed as Biscuit’s condition can cause serious, uncontrollable bleeding during surgery.
Her vets, Daleside Vets in Wrexham, recently started offering laparoscopic spays. This keyhole procedure is minimally invasive and causes less bleeding than the traditional method of open surgery.
A laparoscopic spay was a much safer option for Biscuit, but her body’s deficiency of clotting factors meant she needed to be given a plasma transfusion prior to her surgery. This provided her with the vital clotting factors she needed to stop any bleeding during the operation.
The plasma Biscuit received came from a lifesaving blood donation given by Winter, a gorgeous German Wirehaired Pointer. Owner Susie was proud of her girl saying, ‘Many years ago, one of my dogs ruptured his intestine and had one of my other dogs not given blood that night, he would have died. Since then, all my dogs have donated. Best regards from a very chuffed Winter, she is delighted she could help!’
Biscuit is doing well following her surgery. Her blood tests were normal, and she recovered fantastically well in the normal two-day window after a laparoscopic spay.
Sheena and Jamie, were grateful for the wonderful care she got, adding, ‘We were amazed how quickly Biscuit recovered from her surgery, within 48 hours she `was back to her normal self - in fact we struggled with how active she was!’
Two weeks later she was already enjoying her first family holiday with her grandson at the lakes.
This story shows how blood is needed in life threatening situations as well as non-urgent surgeries that dogs require to improve their quality of life - and we aim to ensure this is always the case.
However, more dogs are needed to come forward and give blood to meet this aim. If your dog is fit and healthy, between 1 and 8 years old, weighs over 25kg, and is confident, they could become a blood donor and help to save lives.
