Elroy was surrendered to the RSPCA NSW at only 6-months-old with a fractured jaw and broken leg. It was unknown how he sustained these injuries, but the RSPCA team did a great job to provide Elroy with all the care and treatment he needed prior to finding his forever home. Elroy was adopted at 9-months-old by SASH CEO and Internal Medicine Vet, Dr Justin Wimpole, and he settled quickly in his new family home. A typical chocolate Labrador, Elroy the “big brown bear” loves everyone he meets, every place he visits and everything about life in general. Naturally, he became an integral part of the SASH family – coming to hang out at work with Dr. Justin and our team AND helping those in need by being one of SASH’s first and most honourable blood donors.
Over the years of his life, Elroy’s blood has helped over 20 dogs in need! Now, at 11 years old, he spends most his days basking in the sun, running at the beach and embarrassing his family at the dog park!
Recently, whilst Dr Justin was visiting SASH Adelaide, he received a distressing call from his family who came home to a collapsed and sick Elroy. His family brought him straight to SASH Emergency. Dr. Dominque Chan (Emergency Vet) assessed Elroy and found he was bleeding internally – he required emergency surgery from Specialist Surgeon and good friend of Elroy’s, Dr Andrew Marchevsky. In addition to surgery, Elroy required a blood transfusion and hospitalisation in the SASH ICU, being looked after by our Critical Care team.
Elroy recovered nicely from his surgery. However, was diagnosed with haemangiosarcoma (a cancer that arises from the blood vessels and the cause of Elroy’s unfortunate episode) and is now undergoing chemotherapy at the SASH Cancer Centre. Despite recent dramas, Elroy is still living his best possible life, and he still loves coming to work with his dad and seeing all our wonderful team here at SASH.
The blood Elroy received came from a generous Labrador cross, named Enzo. Without the help and generosity from Enzo, Elroy’s outcome may have not been the same. It was fortunate that Enzo’s owners originally nominated him for our Blood Bank program after seeing one of our Facebook posts. Want to know if your dog is eligible to be a Blood Donor Hero? Visit the Blood Bank Page.
