We Gave Blood!

Bruno passed his screening to be a blood donor for UC Davis' Canine Blood Bank. So we headed off to make our first donation of blood!

Bruno won the entire staff over with the powers of his freakishly large head. He was showered with cookies which immediately made everyone his new BFF's. The entire process lasted less than 15 minutes and the machine they used to take a pint of blood was not as scary as I thought it would be! It went off successfully and Bruno felt well enough to chase a squirrel after his donation. :-)

The one thing I did not think about was the fact that Bruno cannot be walked out with his leash attached to his collar. Since the donation site is located at the jugular, it's not a good idea to apply any pressure to the area immediately after the dog has donated. So the staff helped me make a makeshift harness using his belly.

I also received a copy of all the tests preformed on Bruno's blood during his initial screening. I added up the costs and this is well over $400 worth of free tests! Included in the screening were the following tests and detection of pathogens:

• Anaplasma phagocytophilum
  
• Anaplasma platys
• Ehrlichia canis
• Rickettsia spp (including RMsF)
• Mycoplasma haemofelis and haemocanis
• Leishmani
• Babesia sp (including canis, divergens and gibsoni)
• Brucella canis
  
• Von Willebrand Factor
  
• Heartworm
• Blood Typing
• Chemistry Panel
  

So if you haven't given this a second thought and your dog qualifies, please think about participating with your dog! You'll be helping to save lives in the process!

Here is more information on who can qualify as a dog blood donor:

Donor dogs for the new program must

• Be 1 to 8 years old,
• Weigh at least 55 pounds and
• Never been pregnant or had puppies.

Other information

• Dogs and their owners must live within 100 miles of UC Davis.
• The initial health check, which includes veterinary services valued at $300, will be free.
• All subsequent donation visits will also be free.
• If any health problems are detected, the owner will be advised to follow up with the dog's regular veterinarian.
• Those accepted into the program will return in two to three months for a half-hour donation visit.

At the animal's first visit

• The appointment will last for about one hour.
• The dog will be given a health check.
• The dog will be screened for infectious diseases.
• A unit of blood (about one pint) will be collected.

Dog owners interested in learning more about the blood donor program or scheduling a health-screening appointment for their dog should contact the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital at (530) 752-1393, ext. 421.

Maybe when you're done you might get a cool scarf like Bruno was given. :-) However, you probably won't have the freakishly large head needed to complete the ensemble.

P.S. We are totally ignoring the fact that "Science Diet" has infiltrated the world of canine fashion!

P.P.S. That *is* Bruno's happy face! :-p

P.P.S. We donated blood before Bruno was diagnosed with a tumor! So no worries that we are giving out tumor laden blood! :-)