A FORMER racing greyhound has begun a new role helping to save other dogs’ lives.
May, a four-and-a-half year-old grey, ran in more than 80 races under the name Lily’s Princess before she was taken in by new owner Sheila Wylie from kennels at the Greyhound Trust, Merrybent, near Darlington.
Now enjoying life at a much more leisurely pace, May has become a blood donor for the charity Pet Blood Bank.
Ms Wylie, from Staindrop, one of the organisers of the annual Great Global Greyhound Walk at Hutton Magna, said many people do not realise pet blood donations are needed.
“It has been a talking point,” she said.
“At the donor session they get a fitness check. They are monitored for signs of anxiety.
“The blood is run through a series of checks and the results are given to the owner.
“So, as well as being used by the Pet Blood Bank, it works as an early warning system, for free, for your dog’s health.”
Ms Wylie added: “May has ‘negative’ blood, rarer than ‘positive’, so is especially useful as a donor. Donations are eight weeks apart.”
The Pet Blood Bank vets use a human sized needle so the actual donation time is not long, just ten to 15 minutes.
“Each donation can save the lives of up to four dogs, so it is well worth doing,” added Ms Wylie.
“If a dog is nervous at the first donation, they do not go ahead but offer training sessions to get the dog used to the situation before taking blood.
“The PBB take the donor’s well being very seriously, monitoring the donor’s heart rate before and during the process.
“May took to donating straight away. She loved the foam mattress on the vet’s bench so much she would not get up – but that is typical of lazy greyhounds.”
After giving blood, doggy donors are given a bowl of tinned food in the same way human donors enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit.
To be a donor, dogs must be fit and healthy; aged between one and eight; weigh more than 25kg; have a good temperament; have never travelled abroad; be vaccinated; and not be on any medication. For more details, go to www.petbloodbankuk.org.
![A COUNTY councillor is backing a campaign to get a pedestrian crossing in Staindrop. Frustrated parish councillors in the village summoned their county council representative Cllr George Richardson to their latest meeting to discuss several issues, including the call for a safe way to cross the A688. Earlier this year their request for a crossing was turned down by the county council’s highways officers. Parish council chairman Jonothan Raper described the reasons for the refusal as “spurious” and called on Cllr Richardson to support their campaign. He added: “One of the arguments they made was there is no clear line of desire when they studied the village – well this isn’t a clear line of desire because there isn’t a crossing, people cross whenever they can. “When the lollipop person was there, one of the things I noticed was people would walk all the way down to the lollipop person to cross the road to go to the shop or to go to the school.” He added a problem of parking at the primary school is exacerbated because people are too afraid to walk their children across the road. Cllr Richardson said he had supported previous attempts for a crossing point with the first being made about 15 years ago. He added: “We went fairly well down the road with that and they looked into it. The only recommended place was where the bus stop is and to get the visibility splays, people on the other side of the road would lose their parking. “That didn’t go down well so it just died a death.” Cllr Raper said he suspected the real reason for the officers’ refusal was the cost of installing a crossing. He added that much of the cost could be recovered from savings made on not having to employ a lollipop patrol. Cllr Raper said: “A lollipop person only provides a benefit of crossing for three hours of the day. You are getting 21 extra hours of crossing time [with a pedestrian crossing].” Cllr Richardson said he would raise the issue with the county council’s cabinet member for highways, Cllr John Shuttleworth.](https://teesdalemercury.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/georgeR-120x86.jpg)
