well Bank Holiday Monday started off with an early morning phone call from our vets, they had an emergency case in for treatment and urgently needed a blood donor, as you'll all know from previous threads on this forum Greyhounds make ideal blood donors due to the unique make up of their blood.

Off we went up to the vets with Ivor, he's given blood a couple of times before so is a bit of an expert now! Our vet called back an hour later, bad news! Ivor's blood type was not compatable with the sick dogs, he explained that they were now matching the blood before transfusion and Ivor's was just too big a mis-match with the sick dogs to use in that case. To add to this Ivor decided to move when he was being injected and had to get 3 staples in his neck where the wound was!

The vets were still desperate for blood so off we went back up with Mac, Mac has never given blood before so this was a bit of an adventure for him. He was a bit nervous when we entered the vet and I cast my mind back to the GALa 3 years ago when Mac got microchipped and in the process screamed the place down as I tried valiantly to hold him down! Anyways, once we got into the consulting room Mac calmed right down and the vet took a small sample of his blood to test first, the results came back within minutes, Mac was an ideal match for the sick dog and off he went to donate!

We've just picked the boys up, Ivor is still groggy from his anesthetic and looking a bit sorry for himself, Mac's recovered quicker and got a very glowing report from the vet, not only is his blood ideal but he was the perfect well mannered patient.

The sick dog is now on the mend and Ivor will recover in a few hours, well worth it to save the life of a dog which would otherwise have died. Last time Ivor donated blood our vets gave GAL a donation and they will probably be doing the same again this time.

Here's our sleepy boy Ivor, still got to wear his plaster for a few hours....



and here's Mac, his wound is only just visable, he was awake enough to get a nice dinner from the vet so he's quite happy!

Brave boys indeed.  Ivor is a very handsome boy (don't think I've seen him in the flesh before)  Mac is obviously very handsome too

Got to admire anybody who will take their dog to the vet for the sake of another dog.  Our Theo makes such a fuss, we dread vet visits with him.  I'm going to sit him down and read him this thread, shame him into behaving better in the future.

Well done, Ivor and Mac. 

-- Edited by Calatria at 23:58, 2007-05-28

Well done to both Ivor and Mac, hero,s Nora 

Well done, Mac and Ivor! Brave boys indeed. Yet further proof that greys are the most special doglets in the world. (Not that I'm biased, or owt... )

JENNY wrote:

---

Brave boys indeed.  Ivor is a very handsome boy (don't think I've seen him in the flesh before)  Mac is obviously very handsome too

---

Ivor is right handsome, he's pure white with a fawn patch over his eye and a fawn splat on his forehead, his secret weapon however is his brindle ears! Mac is a lovely boy too, your typical black Greyhound that no one wants, his coat just gleams in the sunshine...

Thank you for all you're good wishes, but this thread really caught my eye!! 
This is so incredible I dont know what to say.  
This is one aspect I never realised about Greyhounds, and one I am quite happy to investigate. 
To top it all, (as we say), a donation to GAL, that is out of this world. Watch my follow up, you all deserve good press. 

-- Edited by Harrythecat at 23:11, 2007-05-29

Wow have read this thread with interest, what brave hounds. Are you there when the blood is taken or do you leave the dogs. I'm not squeamish with human blood at all, but coming out my girls (Sunny and Zoe) I might be different .

Well Done Mac and Ivor.

Jenny I've always liked Ivor I think its that smudge above his eye .

Landess