PAT Dog receives a Gold medal for donating blood
Pets As Therapy Volunteer Sue Mitchell, who lives in Bedforshire, is the proud owner of an eight-year-old Gordon Setter called Sharwood – who is the first dog ever to receive a Gold medal for donating 40 pints of blood to charity Pet Blood Bank UK.
Thanks to Sharwood, who started donating blood in 2017 aged just a year, the lives of over 160 dogs have been saved. Along with his best buddy Baxter and son Brinjal, all Gordon Setters AND all PAT Dogs, they make for a pretty great team.
One of the many lives that Sharwood's donations have saved is of dachsund Sizzle, who has suffered from haemophilia all his life and relies on donated blood.
Sue says: "I am immensely proud of Sharwood reaching this incredible achievement. [...] He will now hand over the reins to his son, Brinjal, who has already donated 12 units. Sharwood is the third of my dogs who has regularly donated to this wonderful charity. I am so proud of them for all the lives they have helped to save.
Back in the early 1990s I registered my first Gordon Setter as a PAT Dog. His name was Branston and I believe from there on all my dogs have been registered with PAT working in residential homes, schools as Read2Dogs, hospices and more recently working with IMPAKT in Luton.
I thought and still do that it would be a great idea to support Pets As Therapy with my great natured dogs and bring joy to those who they visited."
In numbers:
- Sharwood has made a total of 40 donations, and was the first to ever dog to do so.
- The total weight of blood he has donated is 22.5kg.
- His donations helped save the lives of over 160 dogs.
- His last donation was on Sunday 13 July.
- Baxter and Brinjal have donated 33 and 12 times respectively.
- All three PAT Dogs have donated a total of 85 pints of blood, saving the lives of 340 dogs.
- 9 is the total number of PAT Dogs owened and registered by Sue since early 1990.
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