The biker and his buddy’s brush with death
A Taranaki motorcyclist and his dog have campaigned tirelessly to save other people’s lives for years, but at the weekend it was Kairo who needed help.
The friendly border collie and his owner, Gary Anderson, are well known around New Zealand for the motorbike and sidecar in which they travel together, raising awareness and money with the Taranaki Rats (Riders Against Teen Suicide).
The pair are inseparable and share a deep bond. So Anderson was horrified when he discovered 13-year-old Kairo covered in blood on Saturday morning.
“He had blood running down both front feet – it was like a murder scene – with blood coming out from his mouth.”
He rushed Kairo from Stratford to the Coastal Vet Services clinic in Ōpunake, where the dog’s chest, neck and stomach were X-rayed and he was put on antibiotics and a drip.
Later, staff discovered that the dog was bleeding from an artery in his mouth, behind one of his back teeth.
Although the veterinarians managed to stop the bleeding, Kairo had lost a lot of blood, and on Sunday tests showed he was close to death despite around-the-clock nursing.
“He was just so weak and tired – he just wanted to sleep,” Anderson said.
But there was no donated dog blood available at Ōpunake, so vet Franzi Crowley rang around other vet practices asking for help.
Fortunately, the New Plymouth Vet Group had some blood available, and Anderson raced to fetch it.
“I flew up there like a madman, picked it up and rushed down the coast so he could get his blood transfusion,” he said.
Then it was a matter of waiting to see whether the blood would save the old dog’s life – and another sleepless night for Anderson.
“I didn’t think I could cry any more,” he said. But then he started crying during a live video made for Kairo’s Facebook page on Sunday.
“I wasn’t really keeping my hopes up last night, but today I’m able to pick him up and bring him home,” Anderson said yesterday. “He’ll be getting pissed off about how much I’m going to be hugging him.”
This weekend was the only time he had been apart from Kairo since he got the dog nine years ago.
“He’s with me 24/7. If I can’t take him with me, I’m not going.“
Kairo’s recovery was the second miracle in his family in a fortnight, he said.
His mother, Beverley Anderson, suffered a major stroke and was flown to Auckland for treatment, with her family expecting the worst.
“She was sitting up and talking the next day. She made a miracle recovery. We’d thought we were losing her, then this happened with Kairo, and I thought I was losing him.”
Anderson said he was very grateful for the care his beloved dog received from the veterinary clinic staff. “Franzi has been fantastic – I can’t praise them enough.”
Crowley said she was really happy with how Kairo was recovering, after an anxious weekend. “He lost a lot of blood. He was pulsing blood – it was pretty bad.
“We were lucky we managed to find the source of that bleed, and that New Plymouth Vet Group helped us with some blood. It was a team effort. He is a lucky dog.”
Dog owners who were willing to offer their pets as potential blood donors for emergencies could contact their vet, she said. Because blood lasts only a month, it’s not routinely stored.
Dogs have two different blood types, so potential donors need to be screened and must be in good health, aged between 2 and 7 years, and weigh at least 25kg.
Anderson said he was grateful for the support he had received over the weekend.
Some supporters had offered to help to pay the vet bill, which he also appreciated, he said. People who wanted to help could donate directly to Kairo’s account at Coastal Vets. If more money than was needed for Kairo came in, he would ask the clinic to use it to help other people who were struggling to pay for their pet’s care, he said.