A VETERINARY group is supporting Breast Cancer Awareness month by donating to charity when dog and cat owners bring their pets in for a free mammary check-up.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month for women, but many pet owners have no idea their dogs and cats can actually get breast cancer.

Westway Veterinary Group, which has branches across the North-East, wants to highlight the risk of mammary cancer in pets, especially in unspayed dogs over the age of five.

Owners can arrange a free breast cancer check for their pet at any Westway branch throughout the rest of October, but will be invited to make a suggested donation of £5 to the charity, Breast Cancer Care, while Westway will donate £1 for every examination carried out on a newly registered cat or dog.

Westway vet Stephanie Veitch, who runs the group's Birtley branch, said: “Half of all tumours are benign and are in one place, but they can grow large and become a problem.

"Mammary cancer is very common and can be successfully treated, if caught early.

"The more seasons a dog has and the older they get, the more at risk they are of developing cancer. “If they are spayed before they are a year old, their chance of developing mammary cancer is extremely low.

“It is the same for cats."