(Photo courtesy of Canadian Animal Blood Bank)
The Canadian Animal Blood Bank in partnership with Fostering Hope Animal Rescue Foundation is working to provide critical support to animals facing medical emergencies.
Fostering Hope fosters and pet owners across the Central Alberta region are encouraged to bring their animals to the Cedarwood Veterinary and Animal Emergency Hospital for an animal blood drive on Nov. 6.
“For every one of our foster dogs that donates, we receive a bag of blood in return, in case we ever need to use it,” said Jasmine Elizabeth, Fostering Hope Animal Rescue Foundation founder.
To donate blood, animals must be between one and eight, be over 55 lbs., be up to date on vaccinations, have had no recent surgeries, and not take any medication.
“Anybody can donate. A few of our fosters at this blood drive are going to bring their foster dog as well as their personal dog,” Elizabeth said. “That way the blood bank just continues to grow.
The blood drive has received a lot of positive support from Central Albertans, with appointments filled throughout the day.
“It's amazing to be able to donate that much blood in one day and then get all of the fosters involved because now they want to bring their personal dogs too,” Elizabeth said. “It means there's going to be more people donating, and that's always the goal, to raise awareness.”
She added, for some of the animals scheduled to donate blood, it’s a full-circle moment.
“These foster dogs come in from sometimes really terrible places and now they're saving other dogs’ lives."
Amy Gieringer, Canadian Animal Blood Bank Central Alberta Coordinator, and vet tech said she works with animal blood transfusions daily to treat autoimmune diseases, traumas, cancers, and canine parvovirus.
“We use blood quite a bit. It's becoming more and more commonly used as a form of treatment instead of euthanasia,” Gieringer said. “That's often the way it could go if we didn't have these blood products.”
There are two types of canine blood, but each type is valuable in certain situations.
The donation appointment is treat-based and designed to be a positive experience for the animal.
“If you have a very easygoing dog, they typically don't even notice anything's happening. They just love that they're getting so much attention and treats," Elizabeth said.
Each donation is allotted 30 minutes, beginning with a sample to determine the animal's blood type.
Gieringer explained that the animal is then assessed, and if it’s not stressed, scared, or dehydrated, blood collection begins from the jugular, and takes between three to five minutes.
“It's very quick, it's very painless, it's a very positive experience. A lot of the dogs are very happy coming back and doing it again,” she said. “That's always my goal, if I feel like a dog is too stressed or too scared, we just stop because it's not worth it at the end of the day to make it a negative experience.”
To register your pet to become a donor, click here.
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