Blood Donor Bruno

"Woo-hoo! The car has stopped!
We're here!"






"WAIT!
This is the vet's,
isn't it???"

Bruno decided to see if he could qualify to be a canine blood donor for the UC Davis Animal Blood Bank. It only took one hour to see if we could help canines in need. Every year, UC Davis veterinarians perform 200 to 300 blood transfusions to treat conditions ranging from surgical complications to kidney failure.





Did you know dogs have 13 types of blood? During our visit today, Bruno was screened to for diseases and to qualify his blood for which one of the 13 types he posseses. We received the results of his blood screening for free in addition to a health check with a veterinarian.

"Ok, Ma you know the drill..
Vet = LOTS OF COOKIES!"

It also was a good training opportunity for Bruno! We had to climb stairs and ride in an elevator, something we'd never done before. We met new people and we met a friendly male vet who was able to restrain Bruno when they withdrew blood.

If you know Bruno personally, you probably cringed at the words "male" and "restrained" and had images of Bruno barking his head off in an effort to get the bad man away. But the staff was very understanding and gave us all the time we needed to work at Bruno's pace in order to help Bruno feel comfortable.

"The staff here are all
A-OK by me!"





Our visit took less than an hour and we also received a goody bag!

These goodies for the dogs and goodies for the humans! From dog cookies to human food coupons, there is something there for everyone to enjoy.

(And I am still laughing my ass off that they included a Raiders sticker in there, since Ryan is a DIE HARD 49ers fan and cringes whenever I tell him I am going to buy Bruno a Raiders Collar. Ha ha!)

Coincidentally, the hospital is right across from where I work. After we were done with our visit, I decided to show Bruno where I work. I felt he needed to understand what I go through in order to earn that green paper that buys him all those cookies he eats.

"So this is where you wait for the bus?"

"It would be better if they had a
cookie dispenser in this booth."





"Ma! Look!
How did that dog get up there?"





"Excuse me!
Hello??"

Um, Bruno...that's not a real dog. It's a bronze statue erected as a memorial for dogs killed in the line of police duty.

"Hee hee...he's not real!
I knew that!"

Bruno says that donating blood is easy and, if you live within 100 miles of Davis, CA, you could qualify too! If you are interested in seeing if your dog qualifies, I encourage to sign up. More information can be found by clicking on the following link: http://www.news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=8551

"That was easy!
Now break open those cookies
they put in that goody bag!"