Lab Mix Steps Up as Blood Donor to Save Puppy at 1:30 a.m.: 'Wonder Pet'
A dog is being hailed a hero after stepping up to the plate to save a puppy in the middle of the night.
Owner Nikki Epie, an intern at Philippines-based Highland Vets Animal Clinic, learned before joining the team that the clinic sometimes needs doggy blood donors. About a month ago, she volunteered her Labrador and golden retriever mix, Pipay, when the clinic was looking for a donor, but they had already found one. However, she still wanted to offer Pipay as an option in the future.
"I told the staff that if ever they need a blood donor, I have a dog that's qualified," she told Newsweek via TikTok. "It was perfect timing that during that emergency case, I was already an intern and that they could call me anytime whenever they needed my help."
Pipay's time finally came when Epie received a call at 1:30 a.m. one night. A puppy had come into the clinic with zero hemoglobin. Epie said the puppy wouldn't have made it past sunrise.
In a recent TikTok clip posted to the account @_nikkichang, Epie says what happened to get Pipay to the clinic. It started with dragging the 5-year-old dog out of bed after she received the call at 1:30 a.m., when Epie was still awake. Once Pipay was up, she was excited to get moving, but she gave her owner the runaround after trying to escape for 15 minutes.
Luckily, the clinic was only about five minutes away. Pipay was sedated, and the team spent time finding a vein to draw blood because, as Epie wrote in the video, Pipay was "a little too chonky." But soon enough the puppy received the blood donation and was in recovery.
The caption reads: "Proud to say Pipay saved a life today."
"My dog is back to her happy, healthy self after that," Epie said. "We got home around 4 a.m. that morning because I had to wait till she could walk on her own because she's around 29 kilograms and I could not carry her home if I did not wait for her grogginess to go away."
As for the puppy, Epie said she was discharged the following day, and from what she knows, she is recovering well.
'Bonded for Life'
The story touched people's hearts, bringing in over 1.5 million views and 269,900 likes on TikTok as of Wednesday.
"He's like a retired superhero saying, 'Someone needs saving again?? Fineee,'" commented one viewer. Another wrote: "Pipay is literally a wonder pet."
Another added: "They're bonded for life now!!"
A third person wrote: "God bless you po and your dog! The poor pup looks really weak. Hope the little one recovers."
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