N.S. clinics out to boost supply of blood available to dogs in emergency cases

Harley was a typical nine-year-old dog until a health scare in October.

She had developed a mass on her tail that wasn't originally a concern for Emily Stevens, her primary caretaker. That was until it burst after Harley bumped into something, leading to a need for a blood transfusion prior to surgery. 

But not all veterinary clinics keep blood products on hand, complicating some emergency procedures.

That's why the Winnipeg-based Canadian Animal Blood Bank is partnering with veterinary clinics in Nova Scotia to increase supply at a new processing centre in Halifax opening sometime this month. 

Harley primarily lives with Stevens when her brother-in-law is away for work. She said finding a blood donor and going through the procedure was scary. 

She says Harley became cold and wasn't herself, so they rushed to the Truro Veterinary Hospital. She said Harley needed a blood transfusion due to the blood loss.

Originally the hospital thought Harley might need to go to Halifax to be treated. But a blood donor was located and the procedure could go ahead in Truro.

"They did wonders for her, they really did," Stevens said.

The Truro Veterinary Hospital will host its blood collection clinic for dogs on Feb. 1.

Dr. Alana Mason, one of the hospital's veterinarians, said the national organization reached out to them to co-ordinate the collection.

"It's not just our clinic, but other clinics are volunteering their facilities and kind of helping to recruit … some willing donors and owners to come in," said Mason. 

She said it would be typical for emergency clinics to have their own store of blood products but not enough to share across the province.

"Having it transported from an hour away is still much more efficient than the alternative for what we would have previously done, which would have been … finding a donor dog, having that donor dog to come to the clinic, having that necessary testing done on that donor dog, collecting, then doing the testing kind of with the dog receiving it.

"And, sometimes you just don't have a dog readily available at that moment when you need it," she said.  

Knowing that donor matches aren't always easy to find at short notice is something Kaila Watters experienced with her late dog, Indy.

Indy needed a splenectomy and was rushed to the Truro clinic. "We had to kind of scramble to find a blood donor," Watters said.

She said 14-year-old Indy wasn't a typical blood type, making a match harder to find. But eventually a donor was located.

Indy got through surgery and the blood donation wasn't needed, but Watters says she was happy it was there just in case.

Indy recovered, but later had to be euthanized unrelated to the surgery. 

Watters called the upcoming donation clinic "a no-brainer."

"Just bring them in and get them to donate," said Watters.

Information on the donation clinics can be found at the Canadian Animal Blood Bank website.