Dog owners are being urged to come forward to save lives.
Willows Veterinary Group, which has a branch at Acorn Vets in West Kirby, is calling for people to help the charity, Pet Blood Bank UK, and bring their pets forward as blood donors to allow vets to carry out life-saving treatment.
The organisation runs donation sessions across the country for owners to bring their much-loved companions to give blood. The blood is then taken to a processing centre where it is separated into different products before being stored ready to be sent out to vets as and when they need it.
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One donation can help save the lives of up to four other dogs and Dr Emily Guest, a vet at Willows Vet Hospital is appealing for pet owners in the area to get involved in the scheme. She said: "The Pet Blood Bank is a service that we can ring at any point to get deliveries of different blood products.
"Vets across the country are hugely reliant on it, but the Pet Blood Bank is in serious need of new donors to build up their blood stocks. With that in mind, we here at the hospital have applied to become a donor centre, so we're looking for people in the area to sign their pets up.
"Owners will be contacted when the Pet Blood Bank is here, so it will be nice and convenient for them to come down."
Dogs who are registered must be over one year old, over 25 kilos and fully vaccinated. Owners from all vet practices in the area are encouraged to get involved.
Emily, who has worked for Willows Veterinary Group for five years said: "A blood donor session for a dog is very similar to a person. On arrival they will receive a health check prior to their donation and then they receive snacks and a goodie bag afterwards.
"The whole process takes approximately 45 minutes and owners can stay with their pets during the donation." Emily has signed up her parent's dog, Ollie, a two-year-old flat-coated retriever, for the scheme.
She added: "What we are looking for is for people to sign up online if their dog meets the criteria and is generally happy and healthy and enjoys coming to the vets. If anyone has any queries before signing up, they can ring the hospital and have a chat with one of our support team who will be happy to help."
Willows Veterinary Group, part of VetPartners, offers a wealth of knowledge and expertise through a network of 23 small animal practices, a referral veterinary hospital, an equine hospital and a farm practice, located across Cheshire and into Greater Manchester, North Wales, the Wirral and Staffordshire. Willows is accredited by The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.
For more information about Willows Veterinary Group, go to www.willowsvetgroup.co.uk or Facebook @WillowsVetGroup or call the hospital on 01606 723202. For more information about registering your dog as a blood donor, visit www.petbloodbankuk.org.
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