Devastated dog owner's appeal for more pets to give blood after losing her Shih Tzu to a rare condition

Lauren Gore, of Whiteleas, South Shields, took her four-year-old Shih Tzu Ollie to the vets on Sunday, January 5, after noticing blood in his urine.

They discovered that he was suffering from a rare condition called autoimmune hemolytic anemia, which causes the body to attack its own red blood cells. His blood count was so low, he needed a blood transfusion to be in with a chance of survival.

With the vets not having a match for Ollie’s blood type, Lauren restored to Facebook to try to find a donor.

“I couldn’t believe how many people got in touch. People from Biddick Hall, Hebburn and Gateshead brought their dog in, people I had never met in my life,” said the 23-year-old, NHS worker.

“The vets were overwhelmed, we had five dogs waiting and so many people were ringing up and messaging me.”

However, despite finding a donor - a German shepherd belonging to one of the veterinary nurses - and receiving a transfusion, Ollie failed to improve overnight and Lauren had to make the devastating decision to let him go on Tuesday, January 7.

“We’re absolutely gutted he didn’t make it, he was just a baby, but it wasn’t fair anymore,” she said.

“In most cases the transfusion would have been successful, he was just unlucky.

“I am so grateful to people for giving him that chance. It just restores your faith in humanity, there are good people out there.”

Now Lauren is using the experience to raise awareness of the pets blood bank, a charity through which dog owners register their pets to give blood to help those like Ollie.

Any healthy dog aged 2-8 and weighing over 25kg can sign up as long as they meet all the criteria and they can give blood up to six times a year.

“Not many people know that dogs can give blood,” Lauren added.

“If some good can come out of this I want to help other dogs and prevent others going through the same thing.”

Register your dog as a donor at www.petbloodbankuk.org