Page 10 - PawsandHooves-Autumn2019

Prized pets saving lives
T hank you to everyone who supported our appeal for the blood donor service at
the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals earlier this year. We’re thrilled that the
team were able to recruit an extra team member (Ruby, above centre) to facilitate more blood donations and ensure the valued donors are well cared for. Ruby will be of huge benefit to the team and also the sick and injured pets who visit the QMHA in need of expert care.
We’re delighted that Burns Pet Nutrition are also supporting the team and all of our precious blood donors with a generous financial contribution, as well as kind gifts of food and treats for the donors and for our team to use at blood donor recruitment events.
The team at Burns tell us all about their motivation to support the service.
Founder of Burns Pet Nutrition and veterinary surgeon John Burns is a strong advocate for the welfare of animals and since 1993 he has been on a mission to change the lives of pets for the better. He believes that a natural, healthy diet allows the body to get on with what it does best and can support
the health and wellbeing of pets. Unfortunately, not all dogs are so fortunate to avoid illness or life- threatening accidents.
Leon Burns, Community Project Officer Manager for Burns said, “When the Royal Veterinary College contacted us about being a part of their animal blood donation scheme many of us were shocked to hear that such a thing existed, but we jumped at the opportunity to support such great cause.”
When John started his veterinary career, blood transfusions in pets were unheard of.
John said, “There have been many fantastic advancements in veterinary medicine since my time as a veterinary surgeon. It gives me a great deal of satisfaction to be able to support such a worthy cause as the blood donation scheme. It
is a very wholesome scheme enabling pets to
help others in need. These blood donations offer
a crucial lifeline to unwell pets and to present the blood donors of the year with a reward for their donations is in turn rewarding for us at Burns Pet Nutrition. We would strongly encourage pet owners to consider their pet becoming a blood donor.”
John Burns gained his interest in veterinary science as a 13-year-old whilst working on a small dairy farm in Ayrshire. He then went on to train
as an acupuncturist and a veterinary surgeon, eventually running his own practice in Llanelli. It was whilst working that John found that sometimes using drugs to treat common ailments such as itchy skin and bad ears did not have a lasting effect. When the drugs wore off, the problem occasionally came back. He began applying his knowledge of human nutrition to his work in the practice and believed that feeding cats and dogs
a home-cooked diet of brown rice, vegetables
and meat instead of commercial pet food would lead to positive health results. When the business launched in 1993, Burns became the UK’s first natural pet food company - a concept that was unheard of at the time.
Our thanks go to the team at Burns Pet Nutrition for their kind support.
8
Paws & Hooves Autumn 2019