Every day our vet teams across the UK help sick and injured pets get back on their paws and stay fit and healthy. Here’s a remarkable story from Liverpool featuring a brave little dog called Max.

Lifesaving care from one of our vet teams brought Max ‘back from the dead’ after his heart stopped in an astonishing emergency room drama.

On the day when West Highland Terrier, Max, was facing major surgery to remove a cancerous tumour he suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest at Liverpool (Kirkdale) Pet Hospital, The Jeanne Marchig Centre. Our vet team rushed to the 12-year-old pet’s aid and carried out emergency CPR to restart his heart.

Vet Donald Helliwell said, ‘When Max’s heart stopped, my colleagues came rushing to help. We keep

a ‘crash box’ containing emergency drugs and syringes, and used this along with CPR to try and resuscitate him.

‘It felt like ages, but after about five minutes we managed to get his heart beating again and he was stabilised.’

Max’s owner Doris Griffiths (83) was amazed when she heard what had happened to her beloved dog. But she quickly resolved that the vet team should go ahead with the already planned and vital life-saving surgery to remove the cancerous tumour from Max’s ear.

Doris, from The Wirral, said, ‘Max is my only companion and means everything to me. When the vets told me what had happened I was in shock at first. But I wanted them to go ahead with his operation because he wouldn’t survive without it. The whole time he was under anaesthetic I was on tenterhooks and crying my eyes out.

‘When they told me he’d made it through the operation it was like a miracle. I can never thank PDSA enough. Max is my world and everywhere I go, he goes too.’

Max (pictured with Senior Vet Stephen Mcardle) made a good recovery and is continuing to receive follow-up checks.