German Shepherd Emerald lives in Belleview and is a busy young pup. She is an AKC sport dog, trying out rally and obedience before finding her specialty in Fast CAT competitions. She visits local hospitals and nursing homes with the Alliance of Therapy Dogs.
And every eight weeks, she makes a stop at UF Veterinary Hospitals in Gainesville to donate life-saving blood for dogs in need.
“I love the fact that it’s never forced – it’s all volunteer, cooperative-based care from the dogs,” said Miranda True, the daughter of Emerald’s owner who takes the dog to every visit. Emerald is now 4 years old and has been part of the Blood Bank Program since she was a year old.
“She gets a treat for any positive behavior that she offers,” True said. “She knows which steps come next. It’s kind of funny to see.”
A Recent Recipient of Emerald’s Donation
The need for blood products is so high right here at UF Veterinary Hospitals that donor blood usually stays in-house. However, a recent situation had Emerald’s blood going to a very sick rescue dog in Jacksonville.
The dog, Tank, was hospitalized and too sick to travel to Gainesville for the blood products he needed. The clinic caring for him had called nearby clinics to find his blood type products, but they struck out until calling UF Veterinary Hospitals.
“We happened to have a unit of packed red blood cells that would expire if it wasn’t used within the next day or so, and overstock of fresh frozen plasma,” said Camille Kelly, a UF veterinary technician who oversees the Blood Bank Program. “So I made arrangements for our laboratory to perform crossmatch testing to check for compatibility between Tank and the donor, Emerald.”
The pair were a match, and the rescue founder picked up the blood products the next day to deliver to the Jacksonville clinic. The last major intervention needed in his recovery, Tank was discharged the next week.
Extra factoids
- Emerald has donated 12 times. Each bagged donation waits as-is for up to two hours, just in case a dog urgently needs it in Emergency and Critical Care. If that time passes, the blood is processed for multiple life-saving uses as packed red blood cells and plasma, or is stored as whole blood.
- A unit of canine blood is guaranteed to each donor dog’s family at UF Veterinary Hospitals, should it ever be needed. This doesn’t necessarily mean Emerald will receive her own blood in the case of an emergency, as donated products are used when any compatible dog is in need, but it could happen.
- Just like humans, dogs have different blood types and compatibility. If a dog urgently needs blood products, their blood type is determined and matched to the available blood donors. This is why we can always use more dogs in our Canine Blood Donor Program!
Learn more about our Canine Blood Donor Program’s requirements and perks.
