A SERIOUSLY ill dog has lived to fight another day thanks to blood donations from three other pooches.

Taxi the Jack Russell has been at owner Lauren Staines’ side for eight years, even travelling around Europe with her, and she was worried sick when he suddenly became very lethargic.

Mum-of-one Lauren, 26, rushed Taxi to Vets Now in Farnham, which provides out-of-hours emergency care for pets in the area, and he was found to have a blood cell count of just 11 when it should have been around 40.

Vets eventually diagnosed severe anaemia and suspected severe haemolysis, and told Lauren that Taxi would need an emergency blood transfusion to survive the night.

Lauren said: “It felt like my entire world had come crashing down.

“Taxi comes everywhere with my three-year-old son Max and me, he is my protection, my ultimate love and my best friend and all of sudden we were needing a miracle for him to survive.”

Unfortunately, there were no compatible blood supplies available nearby but a bag was sourced 30 miles away in Southampton, which Lauren picked up at 2am.

The transfusion helped stabilise Taxi only for his blood count to plummet again the next day.

But after a second and a third transfusion he began to perk up, and Taxi was allowed home after two nights under close observation.

Lauren said: “When they said I could take Taxi home I was so happy.

“Max just burst into tears as soon as he saw him – he was so pleased to have his best friend back.

“I can’t thank the staff at Vets Now enough.

“They were so kind and dedicated and kept me informed all the time.”

Senior vet Stephanie Timmons, who treated Taxi, said: “It’s wonderful he’s now back to his old self and it shows what a fighter he is.

“We were all very attached to him at the clinic and were really rooting for him.”

As Lauren didn’t have pet insurance for Taxi she resorted to selling some of her valuables and setting up a GoFundMe page to pay for his treatment.

“It was quite a rollercoaster, but it did show me how kind people can be.

“I was absolutely blown away by the response,” she added.

The blood for almost all canine transfusions in the UK is provided to vets by independent charity Pet Blood Bank UK, which collects blood from donors at organised donation sessions nationwide.To find out more about Vets Now go to www.vets-now.com .