AMERICAN GOLFER FIGHTS THROUGH RAIN IN WIN SPORTS {page 13}
BRAVEHEART? GIBSON, EX SETTLE BITTER DISPUTE {page 7}
LONDON
Monday, August 29, 2011 www.metronews.ca News worth sharing.
Working like a dog to give blood Blood donor program helps injured, sick dogs
Retirements leave London program unable to meet demand ANGELA MULLINS/METRO
Rocky may not know it, but the eight-year-old mixed breed has likely saved a number of lives in recent years. As a participant in the London Veterinary Emergency Clinic’s canine blood donor program, Rocky has opened up his jugular about 30 times in recent years to help dogs who are sick or injured. Now, he — along with many of the clinic’s other donors — is retiring, leaving his owner looking for others who may be interested in lending a helping paw. “We supply (canine) blood to all London vets as needed,” said registered veterinary technician Kaitlyn Powers, who oversees the donor program. “A lot of people aren’t aware dogs can give blood.” The program started about two years ago, and, at one point, had about 15 dogs signed up. It’s now down to seven. Like the challenge of maintaining a healthy pool of human blood donors, keeping the canine list robust can be difficult, Power said. First of all, there’s a long list of criteria dogs must meet to get involved. To name a few, they need to be healthy; easy to work with; between one and six years old; weigh more than 25 kilograms; and be on heartworm prevention.
Kaitlyn Powers, a registered veterinary technician at the London Veterinary Emergency Clinic, wraps a bandage around Rocky’s neck last week after taking a bag of blood from the eight-year-old mixed breed. Rocky, who belongs to Powers, has been part of the clinic’s canine blood donor program for several years.
Contact To learn more, contact the London Veterinary Emergency Clinic, 41 Adelaide St. N., Unit 43, at (519) 432-7341. Ask for Kaitlyn Powers or Miranda Sisson.
Candidates also must have the canine universal blood type of A negative, which means one donation — 450 millilitres — can help up to four patients. That makes greyhounds good donors, Powers said. “Eighty per cent (of greyhounds) are the universal blood type,” she said. “I just had a family of four retire.” Once a dog passes the initial screening, it may be called on for a donation every two to three months. The length of time between donations can increase to six months when more donors are available. Making a donation is simple. Dogs come to the clinic, hop onto a table, have a portion of their neck shaved and a needle placed in their jugular vein. The whole deal takes about 30 minutes for a wellbehaved dog, and the blood can be kept on hand for many weeks. The treats — which Rocky considers the best part of doing his duty — come after the dog’s neck is
bandaged and the blood is put away for safe-keeping. Instead of the orange juice and cookies humans get for donating blood, Rocky and his buddies get dental chews,
canned dog food and a special toy. Eventually, Powers would like to see the donor program grow to include about 25 dogs. “We’ve had to transfer patients
out because we didn’t have enough blood products on hand,” she said. “Demand is up. People are realizing transfusions can help and can save lives.” ANGELA MULLINS