Sydney Dogs & Cats Home looks for new home for lifesaving dog

Chestnut, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, arrived at the Sydney Dogs & Cats Home at Carlton as a lost dog in December and became a lifesaver recently when a veterinary hospital put out the call for help to save the life of a puppy.

A 10-week-old Kelpie puppy was rushed to St George Animal Hospital on February 8, suffering breathing difficulties and internal bleeding.

Vets discovered the puppy had consumed rat bait poison some time in the previous two weeks and needed a blood donation to survive.

So the animal hospital made an urgent call to Sydney Dogs & Cats Home, which is located next door, to see if it could help.

Treating vet Louise Dawson said the animal hospital did about five blood tranfusions a year and often used staff's own pets as blood donors.

She said in this case, none of the staff had a dog well enough or close enough to help as the puppy was possibly just minutes from death.

Sydney Dogs & Cats Home animal care manager Renae Jackson said it carefully considered whether Chestnut could help.

"We of course made certain that Chestnut's health and welfare would not be compromised by donating blood and we provided all the care and support she needed to recover," she said.

Chestnut was sent next door where staff went to work.

After weighing Chestnut to work out how much blood she coud safely donate, she was sedated and the donation commenced.

The process took about less than 10 minutes.The blood was then transfused into the puppy over 24 hours while its owner had an agonising wait to see if it worked.

"For the first 10 hours there was no major signs of improvement but the next morning she was better and she made a complete recovery and went home the same day," Dr Lawson said.

"We were just so grateful. It was such a young dog and had such a long life ahead of her. She would have died without the blood donation. [Chestnut] really did give this puppy the gift of life."

The puppy has since made a full recovery and is keeping her owner on his toes with her newfound energy.

Chestnut also recovered and has since been happily chewing away on the veggie pig ears kindly donated by the puppy's owners as she waits to be rehomed.

He asked about adopting Chestnut, but staff had to decline because she is best suited to a one-dog home.

Chestnut is currently the longest resident at the shelter, and carers are appealing for anyone who would be interested in giving her a home to contact the Sydney Dogs & Cats Home on 9587 9611 or click here.

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