Every two seconds a human being needs blood. Although we as human beings may think we are the only ones on this planet in need, that is not the case.
Under many different circumstances dogs are in need of blood. According to world-renowned veterinarian W. Jean Dodds, CEO and founder of Hemopet in Garden Grove, California, there are both acute and chronic conditions that may cause your dog to become in need of blood or blood products.
Acute conditions: ”trauma, surgery, acute hemolytic anemia, or bleeding from accidents such as rat poisoning or from an inherited bleeding disease.”
Chronic conditions: “chronic disease, cancer, chemotherapy reactions, immune-mediated blood cell destruction, recurrent bleeding from an inherited condition, liver failure, bone marrow failure, or kidney failure.”
You may now wonder, can dogs be donors?
You bet. In fact, each dog has a specific blood type, similar to humans. There are at least 12 different canine blood types and six of those 12 are fairly common. Before a dog’s blood becomes eligible to use for transfusion into another dog, the blood must go through several tests checking for many different things, such as heart worm and Lyme Disease.
“Veterinary medicine has become increasingly sophisticated, with trends paralleling those in human medicine – including the increased demand for canine blood and therefore formal blood banking services.” (via)
Whether its human blood or dog blood, blood is always in high demand.
Raise your sleeve or lift your paw and donate blood today and tomorrow… You’ll have someone’s undying gratitude.
