EXCLUSIVE: Saving a dog's life all in a day's work for Stirling volunteer first-aiders

The Courier

a day ago

Since it began as a community safety organisation, Safebase has dealt with thousands of people requiring first aid and assistance.
But in 15 years, volunteers had never stepped in to help a pet.
Until Saturday.
Minnie, a French bulldog, began choking and possibly suffering from heatstroke during the Stirling Highland Games.
After receiving a plea for help, quick-thinking Safebase first-aiders sprang into action.
They attended to Minnie, used a child's oxygen mask to help her breathe, sourced a vet in the crowd and then transported her for emergency treatment.
'If it hadn't been for these guys, she wouldn't be here,' Minnie's owner tells me afterwards. 'I'm just so grateful.'
It's a first for Safebase and my first glimpse of the charity hard at work while joining them for the day.
William Lingard, who assisted with Minnie, later tells me: 'I wouldn't have put that on my bingo card for the year, let alone the day.
'Knowing I've helped – dog or person – that's what it's all about, though. It's why we do this.'
The volunteers have been busy since well before 9am, bringing the service vehicles and setting up the tent on site.
Before the crowds descend on Borrowmeadow, Safebase chair Richard McLennan briefs his team.
They're told to expect around 4,000 people (this figure doubles by the end of the day), and they'll be split into three groups – one for each station and one on patrol.
I join Angela Smith and William on the first round, where we're asked for suncream a few minutes in.
Angela tells me how she joined Safebase in 2022 with her daughter Khyra, who was inspired to get involved after regularly watching the BBC show Casualty.
The mother and daughter team now sign up to cover events or night-time patrols whenever they can.
Her most memorable shift was Safebase rising to the challenge of treating more than 80 people at the UCI amateur cycling race in Perth.
By the time we're back at the tent, the first-aiders have helped a man whose trousers were too small by cutting a hole in them.
Volunteers are busy tending to dozens of stings, helping with grazes and cuts, and providing plasters.
One individual has swallowed a wasp and has been stung in his throat, so we're sent to find ice to relieve it.
Although prepared for up to three traumas, Minnie's ordeal and a hurt ankle are the most serious incidents of the day.
But everything is dealt with professionally and by a friendly face.
The day doesn't stop at 5pm for Safebase.
Packing up and transporting both the equipment and vehicles is the next priority, while Richard and William also make time for a well-deserved break before the night patrol.
I meet the pair just before 8pm at the service entrance to Thistles, where the support vehicle is set up for any potential patients.
They hop on their e-bikes, donated by FEL, and we head to the city centre.
Already aware of activity on Friar Street, it's our first stop and we find an individual standing in front of a car trying to drive down the road.
A conversation with Richard moves him to the side, and he tells me Safebase has saved his life three times (the volunteers aren't so sure).
Our patrol is a loop, chatting to door staff along the way.
We pass The Crossed Peels, City Walls, Lux Bar & Grill, then return to Maxwell Place to keep an eye on Morrison's Cold Beer Company, Molly Malones and Fubar.
We also pop into the railway station – a hotspot for anti-social behaviour – to see if any assistance is required.
Stirling is busy – the closest to pre-Covid nightlife us three have seen.
People are fascinated by the bikes and are asking all sorts of questions, praising the volunteers or begging for a lift.
There's only one occasion during the entire patrol that I see any disrespect towards the Safebase team – and it's clearly fuelled by alcohol.
Most are like the friendly group heading to a pirate party, who are more than happy to pose for a photo with Richard and William.
'I've never seen ambulance on bikes. I don't believe it,' one man says to us.
But believe it or not, Safebase is frequently out on patrols making sure the streets are safe.
The hi-vis vest goes a long way, making people think twice and feel safe, while the presence takes pressure off the emergency services.
Plus, every pub is connected via radio, meaning troublesome individuals are identified to all door staff, or the charity can be called if help is needed.
I can see why Safebase needs its own base in the city centre, which Richard is hoping to achieve via community asset transfer.
By the end of their 14-hour day, the volunteers have accomplished a lot.
They've saved a dog, treated countless stings and cuts, helped a man loosen his trousers, stopped someone from being run over and made sure Stirling's streets were safe.