Just as humans need blood donors to access lifesaving transfusions, animals also rely on donated blood for their survival in times of need.
But in many parts of regional Australia, it can be difficult and expensive for vets to access pre-prepared blood products from animal blood banks — of which there are very few.
To tackle this hurdle, vets across Australia are relying on a few loyal animal blood donors they can call on in an emergency.
They might not wear capes, but they are the canine heroes of the bush.
Mia the Great Dane
Mia has been donating blood since September, 2016 at Knox Veterinary Clinic in Dalby.
At just three years old, Mia has donated blood six times — that makes her one of the most generous dog donors in town.
Mia's first donation was to save a husky, Jenna, who had a massive haemorrhage after having puppies.
Thanks to Mia's emergency donation, Jenna and her seven puppies all survived.
Mia's blood has also gone towards helping dogs that have accidentally eaten mice and rat bait.
Knox vet Jenna Postle said baiting could be a big problem in farming areas, especially in winter when many farmers start to notice mice plagues on their land.
"Certainly where there are mouse plagues around, a lot of people use rodenticides to control that. We see a lot of that on farms in particular," Dr Postle said.
Dr Postle said there was no better feeling than being able to save a dog's life with blood that has been made available, thanks to these donor dogs.
"I think that is one of the reasons why most vets become vets in the first place — is to have that wonderful outcome of a treatment and it does make a huge difference really quickly," she said.
"It certainly does save lives, without a doubt, and saving a dog's life is a good day."
Turbo and CC
Brother and sister duo, Turbo and CC, are also on the Knox Veterinary donations list.
They haven't had to be called in to donate blood yet, but they're ready to go when they're needed.
Their owner, Roslyn Beaver, said it was an easy decision to put them on the donor list so they could potentially save other dogs' lives.
"We're just waiting for the call to say come in and donate some blood, so they can help some other animals," she said.
"Because they're big dogs, the vet asked if we would be prepared to go on the donor list and I said, what a great idea."
Roslyn's son, Lachie, considered his dogs heroes.
"I reckon my dogs are heroes because they save the lives of other dogs when they need it," he said.
