How a trip to the vet ended with one dog saving another's life
When Canberra man Peter Carey went to the vet last Thursday, he only wanted to get a lump on his dog Tom's eyelid checked out.
Fellow vet-goer Jennifer Edmunds just wanted to make an appointment for her four-legged friend Bruce.
Neither expected one pooch to save the other's life, but that's exactly what happened.
The morning started quietly at The Village Vet in Downer, but things took a dramatic turn when Tom lifted his leg and started urinating blood.
The 11-year-old border collie started bleeding profusely, losing an estimated 600 millilitres of blood, leading vets Dr Amanda Keast and Dr Damien Solley to suspect that he had consumed rat bait.
"It left the consult room floor looking a bit like a murder scene," Dr Keast said.
In urgent need of a blood donor and with no time to source blood from emergency stocks in Gungahlin or Fyshwick, Dr Keast rushed next door to the dog-friendly Gang Gang Cafe.
She couldn't believe her luck when she found Jennifer Edmunds and "the perfect candidate" for a blood transfusion, her 4-year-old doberman cross poodle Bruce.
Ms Edmunds assumed Dr Keast was coming to talk to her about the appointment she had made a few minutes earlier, but she didn't hesitate when asked if Bruce could donate blood in an attempt to save Tom.
"Bruce is a healthy, strong dog and I thought if it gave the other dog a chance, it was worth it," Ms Edmunds said.
"I would have done it myself if I could."
At least 13 canine blood groups have been identified, and after Bruce was whisked back to the clinic, the vets conducted tests to make sure he was a suitable donor and collected 450 millilitres of blood for the procedure.
Within two hours, the blood had been transfused to Tom, who almost immediately returned to his "energetic and cheeky" self, much to Mr Carey's relief.
"Considering I took him to the vet because of a lump on his eyelid, it came as a bit of a shock," Mr Carey said.
"[The vets] recognised what was wrong straight away, which is to be commended."
Mr Carey said he had put out rat bait on his property about a month before last Thursday's incident, but he was confident Tom could not have reached it.
He believed Tom had eaten a rat that had taken the bait.
"The amazing thing was how Amanda and Damien were able to do the blood transfusion from Bruce, and how that came about," Mr Carey said.
"He's back to his old self again. I had noticed that he was a bit down on energy [before last Thursday], but I had just put it down to him getting older."
Tom will spend at least four weeks on oral vitamin K while he recovers.
"Now that he's through the critical period, his prognosis for a full recovery is excellent," Dr Keast said.