My heroine!

[LBTC]

Well, today started as a good Sunday, and only got better. We slept in, did laundry, worked out, and my dog Diva saved another dog.

Well, okay, the vet saved her, but with Diva's help. They called looking for a blood donor, as we told them when we moved to town that our dogs are donors. We tried 'Cuda first, along with two other dogs that the vet and his friend had. 'Cuda is definitely our bigger boy, so he's usually the first requested to give blood.

None of the first three dogs was great when they mixed the red blood cells of ours with the serum from the little doggie in crisis. I guess she has hemalytic (or something like that) anemia. Her blood was killing off her red blood cells. So, of the first three, 'Cuda was the best match, but there was still some clotting which isn't great. So then we brought Diva down there. Not only was she the best match of the 4, with virtually no clotting, but she's had incomplete typing done and in 2 of the 3 tests she appears to be a universal donor.

Our vet is no dummy. Once he had her sedated and they were taking her blood, he said that she really needed to have her teeth cleaned (which we knew) and then offered to do it for free. This is a real godsend for us! We don't have lots of available cash for the care of our fur-kids right now (we will when DH starts making plumber money in a few years) and I was already worrying about how we could afford the $400 bill to clean her teeth! Yes, the vet now thinks of Diva as a precious and important doggie and he wants to keep her in fabulous health, etc. Yay!

So she had a drug that sedated her, then a vitamin b/iron injection (great idea!), then another drug that woke her up. She's a bit out of sorts now, but seems to be doing just fine. I think she'll get a little of the turkey soup I'm making, cuz she's just such a special little girl. Mind you, since she's only a 44 pound border collie, he does wish she was as big as a saint bernard!

They said they'd let us know how the recipient does. She looked like a papillon to me - very small and cute. They had to get some blood into her first, then they can try to control the condition with drugs, and they have to check her organs to see how they are. Hopefully they caught it in time, and she'll be alright. Oh, yes, and this poor little recipient's owner drove her three + hours to get here for this treatment.

Life is good

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~

[makbike]

Way to go Diva!

Years ago my beloved Hondo did the same thing. He was an akita/shepherd mix and tipped the scales at about 80 lbs. His blood was given to a tiny minpin who was in crisis. I don't know what happened to that little dog but if Hondo's donation even gave him one more day with his owners it was well worth it.

Give your buddy a big hug from me and my crew (affection known as the Thundering Herd).

[kelownagirl]

Wow, that is so cool! I didn't know dogs could be blood donors! I will ask my vet about it next time we're in. Yay Diva!

[chickwhorips]

wow i didn't even think about dogs being donors. i'll have to look into that. i know peanut has enough to go around and she's a tough girl.

so happy your could lend an extra paw.

[emily_in_nc]

That is really cool! I didn't know about dogs being donors either. I've always had small dogs, so maybe that's why -- they probably don't have enough extra to give.

So glad your Diva could be of help, and that's great about the free teeth cleaning too! Their dental hygiene is so important.

Emily

[LBTC]

Well, today, two days after the blood transfusion, there's a message on our answering machine. The owner of the recipient phoned our home to thank us, tears overwhelming her voice, and asking us to thank Diva too! She brought tears to my eyes instantly just listening to her. Awwwwwwwww. I had to phone the clinic and found out that the patient is doing quite well so far, and that she's had two transfusions of Diva's blood which has bought her some time. They invited me to stop in and see how she's doing, and said that the owner left something at the clinic to thank us. *sniff* I can understand how she feels, and I'm really hoping her little girl recovers.

Diva is doing great and getting lots of extra hugs. She's a great girl.

And, yes, part of the reason I go on and on about the doggie (and kitty) blood donations is that I want lots of people to know that their pet can be a donor too!!

Hugs and butterflies,
~T~