Luton hero greyhound who saved lives of dogs and cat will star at Crufts

Sarah and Ringo. The winner will be revealed in the Resorts World Arena at Crufts on Sunday March 10 at 5.20pm. Credit: BeatFreeMedia.

Ringo, a retired racing greyhound, is a blood donor dog for the Royal Veterinary College and regularly gives samples to vets for procedures and research.

According to owner Sarah Candy, Ringo’s blood has successfully saved the lives of nearly 30 dogs and, due to a remarkable veterinary technique, one cat too!

Ringo and Sarah are finalists in The Kennel Club’s Friends for Life competition after being selected as the outstanding candidate of the Breed Rescue Dog of the Year category.

“I first got Ringo nearly four years ago,” revealed Luton’s Sarah, a swimming pool duty manager. “His picture was on a Facebook page for the Royal Veterinary College. They wanted to find a new home for him – at that point he was still within a racing yard. I just fell in love with him.

“The original post said where he’d done a blood donation, so he was already on their programme and I had another greyhound on their donation programme, so we kept that going.

“He’s done 17 donations and saved the life of about 25-30 dogs and one cat. They can mix dog and cat blood together to save the life of a cat while they are searching for the right blood group for that cat.

“The Royal Veterinary College showed a presentation to us about the two animals who had contributed, and it was Ringo and one of my cats, called Fidget, who saved this cat’s life.”

As well as helping many of his own kind, Sarah revealed the impact Ringo had on her and her family during a difficult period following the death of a close family member.

“He’s been an absolute godsend. Dogs can sense when people are upset and he’s been absolutely superb with my children,” added Sarah, who lives with husband Jon and teenage daughters Lucy and Jemma.

“He spends most of his time asleep on the settee with his paws in the air. He’s just lovely.”

Vote for Ringo to win competition:

Ringo will be appearing at Crufts as one of five finalists. The winner of the Friends for Life competition will receive £5,000 from the Kennel Club Charitable Trust for the dog charity of their choice, with the other finalists will each receive £1,000 for their chosen dog charity.

Voting is open until midday on March 10. Visit: http://www.crufts.org.uk/ffl