A rescue dog and the poorly pooch he helped save with a Christmas Eve emergency blood transfusion have held a touching reunion.<\/p>\n
Tucker, the greyhound has been hailed a hero after he became a live donor for pet spaniel Ivy-Blu in a life-saving operation.<\/p>\n
Now the doggie duo have been reunited at Cheshire Dogs Home along with Ivy-Blu owner Shelley Cleaveley and Tucker\u2019s new owner Matthew Jackson, who had no idea his new canine companion had been involved in the medical drama when he chose him.<\/p>\n
Tucker, a retired racer, had been drafted in from Cheshire Dogs’ Home after an urgent call from Beech House Veterinary Centre in Warrington.<\/p>\n
Vet surgeon Kaitlin Turnbull, who has worked at the practice – run by Willows Veterinary Group – for 18 months, said it was a miracle that Ivy-Blu survived.<\/p>\n
The four-and-a-half-year-old was at death’s door after being diagnosed with severe anaemia that was causing her body to attack its own blood cells.<\/p>\n
Her heartbroken owner, Shelley Cleaveley, admitted she and her family were preparing themselves for the worst.<\/p>\n
The 48-year-old mum-of-two from Paddington, Warrington, said: “Just before Christmas, we noticed something wasn’t quite right with Ivy.<\/p>\n
“She wasn’t coming to us for food and wasn’t her normal happy-go-lucky self so we took her to the vet thinking she had a bug.<\/p>\n
“The vet did some tests on her and discovered she had anaemia.<\/p>\n
“She was put on medication but a few days later she just went further downhill.<\/p>\n
“She was really poorly, her tongue and gums were almost white so she was kept in for further observations.<\/p>\n
“In the run up to Christmas, we just kept getting phone calls telling us her condition was worsening, we were heartbroken thinking we were going to lose her.<\/p>\n
“Then on Christmas Eve, we were told her condition was critical and that she needed a blood transfusion.”<\/p>\n
Shelley assumed the blood would come from a blood bank, but only by a strange coincidence did she discover from her neighbour, who works at Cheshire Dogs’ Home, that long-term resident Tucker had gone into Beech House to be a live donor.<\/p>\n
It was the first time veterinary surgeon, Kaitlin Turnbull had carried out the procedure and she praised Tucker for taking his place as a fellow key worker over the festivities.<\/p>\n
She said: “Ivy presented really lethargic, she was off her food and she had a temperature.<\/p>\n
“When we ran her blood tests to investigate, we discovered she was critically ill.<\/p>\n
“Her blood count was 12 when ideally we’d like levels to be over 35.<\/p>\n
“If a number is below 15, we strongly start to consider a blood transfusion.”<\/p>\n
Kaitlin said further tests allowed her to diagnose Ivy-Blu with a condition called immune mediated anaemia, which causes the body to attack red blood cells because it develops antibodies to them.<\/p>\n
An emergency call was made to Cheshire Dogs’ Home to see if any of its residents could step in and retired racer Tucker was called into action.<\/p>\n
The blood transfusion involved taking 400ml of blood from Tucker’s neck and piping it slowly into Ivy-Blu while making sure she didn’t have any reactions.<\/p>\n
Afterwards Tucker was given a bowl of food for his life-saving efforts.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Ivy-Blu was given medication to help with her recovery and now staff at Beech House are delighted with her progress.<\/p>\n
Kaitlin said: “I’ve been seeing Ivy-Blu for check ups ever since she was discharged and she’s doing brilliantly, her blood levels have all been remaining stable and we’re hoping to wean her off medication gradually.<\/p>\n
“It’s a miracle she is still here.<\/p>\n
“Tucker was definitely a key worker on Christmas Eve, he’s a superstar.”<\/p>\n
Ivy-Blu’s owner, Shelley added: “I was amazed to hear how Tucker had given blood and saved Ivy’s life.<\/p>\n
“She’s a lovely posh pooch and as Ivy had spent Christmas at a specialist hospital recovering, we gave some of her Christmas presents to Tucker.<\/p>\n
“We were absolutely over the moon that he made such a big difference to her prognosis, especially considering how poorly she was, he was a real Christmas hero.”<\/p>\n
Shelley, who works as a mobile hairdresser said Ivy-Blu is now on the road to recovery.<\/p>\n
“She’s eating and getting back to her old self, which is great to see.<\/p>\n
“She’s been through so much, you don’t realise, I didn’t know dogs could give blood, this whole ordeal has opened my eyes to see how special it is.<\/p>\n
“We were lucky to get that, very lucky, especially this time of year.<\/p>\n
“We can’t thank Tucker, Beech House and Cheshire Dogs’ Home enough.<\/p>\n
“Without such great vets and animal rescue staff, what would we do?”<\/p>\n
And it seems that five-year-old Tucker has been rewarded for his good deed by finally finding a forever family after being one of the home’s longest-staying residents.<\/p>\n
New owner Matthew, from Failsworth, said: \u201cWe were in rented accommodation and had wanted a dog for ages so when we moved into our new home my wife, Carley, showed me a photo of Tucker and we went to see him and fell in love with him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey thought he might be a bit of a handful but he\u2019s great although we didn\u2019t realise at the time that he was also a hero.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re delighted that he could meet up with Ivy-Blu. It\u2019s such a lovely story.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anna Stansfield, manager at Cheshire Dogs\u2019 Home, said: \u201cThis is a wonderful story and we\u2019re so glad that our beautiful boy, Tucker, was able to play his part in saving Ivy\u2019s life.<\/p>\n
“To us, all dogs are special and Tucker is just one example of the many wonderful dogs that come through our doors.<\/p>\n
“He was happily re-homed last week and we were able to tell his new family just what a special boy he is.\u201d<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
For more information about Willows Veterinary Group, go to www.willowsvetgroup.co.uk<\/a> or Facebook @WillowsVetGroup.<\/p>\n Anyone interested in adopting a dog from Cheshire Dogs\u2019 Home can visit the website www.dogshome.net<\/a>. Viewings are by appointment only.<\/p>\n