DONOR DOGS
Canine blood bank opens next month
As a puppy, Glenn Ferguson’s perky black cocker spaniel once ate her weight in dog food. So when she skipped a meal on a summer afternoon 10 years ago, Ferguson knew something was up.
“Her gums were white . . . she could barely lift her head,” Ferguson tells the Star over the phone from Winnipeg, where he and his dog, Jasper, reside. Within a couple of hours, Jasper was diagnosed with hemolytic anemia, a disease that causes the immune system to destroy red blood cells. In dogs, it’s often fatal.
“I thought that was it for her,” says Ferguson.
After a week in animal hospital, with veterinarians working to shut down Jasper’s malfunctioning immune system, she received the first of two blood transfusions to boost her red blood cell count.
It took her a month to fully recover. But “without the blood, she would have died,” says Ferguson.
Dog blood is in short supply across the country and organizations who provide it are calling for more donors. In Toronto, a satellite collection spot for the Canadian Animal Blood Bank is set to open next month at Roncy Village Veterinary Clinic.
“There is a very large need, within the veterinary industry, for blood products,” says Mark Kinghorn, a vet at the Roncy Village clinic.
Autoimmune conditions such as trauma and pancreatitis are examples of situations when blood products can be life-saving.
“Animals may and do suffer when they’re not available,” says Kinghorn.
Donating is painless and only takes a few minutes, according to Beth Knight, laboratory director at the Canadian Animal Blood Bank. A test is performed to make sure the dog is healthy, then the blood is drawn.
Dogs aren’t sedated and they don’t get woozy afterward, because “their heads and their hearts are at the same level,” says Knight.
Owners, she says, sometimes make a bigger deal out of the procedure than the dogs do.
“The dogs don’t care at all. All they want is some pets, a whole lot of treats and to get off the table and get busy doing what dogs do.”
Eligible dogs need to be between one and eight years old, weigh more than 50 lbs. and have up-to-date vaccinations. Because the dogs aren’t anesthetized, a good temperament is also important. Currently, more than 80 per cent of the blood used across the country is collected in Manitoba.
Winnipegger Kim Elphick’s rescue dog Leelou has been donating every few months for the last three years. Apparently, the process doesn’t faze the four-year-old border collie cross in the least. “She just lays there like a trouper and donates her blood, and I think she likes it ’cause there are people there,” says Elphick.
Although none of the family pets — two cats and Leelou — have required blood transfusions, the Elphicks like the idea of helping other animals.
“It’s a great way to help out other animals in need because we don’t have space to have them in our household.”
These days Jasper, who has survived the anemia, cancer and gallbladder surgery, is doing just fine.
“She’s still kicking, chasing cats,” says Ferguson, affectionately describing her as his “kid.” He still vividly recalls how close he came to losing her.
“You’re talking about a 240-pound bodybuilder — I was in my dog’s cage crying,” he says.
“The dogs don’t care at all. All they want is some pets, a whole lot of treats and to get off the table and get busy doing what dogs do.” BETH KNIGHT LABORATORY DIRECTOR AT THE CANADIAN ANIMAL BLOOD BANK