Seven Hills Veterinary Hospital is currently in the process of organizing our first ever Canine Blood Drive. If you want to know if your pet has what it takes, read on to learn more.

Why Volunteer Your Dog

Sometimes sick pets need a blood transfusion, and many times having blood and blood products on hand can save lives. Reasons we may need to transfuse a pet patient include:

  • Excessive blood loss due to trauma
  • Treatment of a clotting disorder
  • After a poisoning
  • To stabilize a pet with an autoimmune disease
  • As treatment for an anemia such as that seen in kidney disease
  • To help make a pet more stable for emergency type surgeries

When a pet donates blood, we are able to collect whole blood or harvest the donation into parts such as plasma and packed red blood cells in order to best serve the needs of individual patients.

Qualifications for Canine Blood Donors

Donating blood is a relatively simple process for our doggy donors. The blood is collected via a small needle inserted into the jugular vein. The worst part for most pets is sitting still for the few minutes the blood collection may take.

Not all dogs are the best candidates to be canine blood donors, though. We ask that potential donors be:

  • At least 55 pounds
  • Between one and six years of age
  • In general good health and up to date on vaccines
  • Not on medications (heartworm preventative and thyroid medicine are okay)
  • Generally friendly and relaxed at the vet

Dogs that have had to receive a transfusion in the past are excluded. We do ask that our canine blood donors make at least a one year commitment to making donations.

Donating blood, whether you are a human or dog, is a rewarding experience. Donation has several perks. Other than that irreplaceable feeling you get from doing a good thing, canine blood donors also receive some extra benefits. As a thank you, our doggy volunteers will receive blood work before donation, annual bloodwork, a nail trim during their donation, and six months of heartworm preventative once they have donated four times.

If you and your pet would be interested in helping save other pets lives, please let us know. You can reach Jessica Monyelle, our veterinary technician in charge of the blood drive, via e-mail at [email protected] or by calling the hospital directly.

Pet blood donors are always needed. Please help us to make our first canine blood drive a huge success.