A “SUPER” new blood machine has been bought and installed at the RSPCA clinic in Rhyl following generous donations from members of the public.

The machine helps many animals get blood test results immediately, rather than having to send samples away and then wait days to learn their outcome.

Sylvia Moss, treasurer of the Clwyd and Colwyn branch in Rhyl, said a previous appeal for donations “brought forth a wonderful offer from a lady in Prestatyn”, which led to the machine being bought.

Despite this, she stressed that the clinic is still in desperate need of financial support.

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She said: “The machine is super; it’ll soon pay for itself, which is brilliant. We just need the funding to keep paying the vets in order to use it; it’s like a vicious cycle, really.

“And of course, you need the vet nurse, receptionist, the managers, the drugs, so you need funding coming in as well as the equipment, but it’ll be a big help.

“A lady from Prestatyn got in touch about a month ago – it (cost) was getting on for about £8-9,000, so she gave us quite a big chunk of that towards it.

“You get the results straight away, so you can treat the animal straight away – that makes a big difference.”

Sylvia said that the previous waits for results to come back could often be the detriment of their animals’ health, as well as presenting its own financial burdens.

Not only could an animal’s health deteriorate in the meantime, but vets would be left waiting before knowing what medication to prescribe them.

She added: “Now we’ve paid for the blood machine, it’s not costing us any more, whereas when we were sending blood tests away, we were paying a company to analyse them.

“So, in-between getting the results back, the animal could still be suffering, because our hands were tied until we got them back.

“As it is, it’ll be immediate, so it will save the animal and save us money – so, it’s a ‘win-win’.”

In September, Sylvia told the Journal of how the clinic has been “cutting our charges to the bone” and extended its opening hours, but is still struggling to make money.

It is also “desperate for volunteers”, she added.

The clinic has also been keen for donations to fund muzzles to fit on XL Bully dogs, who must now be kept on a lead and muzzled when out in public with their owners.