Meet Tread. At first glance, he looks like your typical black lab cross: goofy, sweet, ball obsessed, water loving mutt. However, Tread is not just your average run of the mill dog; he is a life saver. Tread is a blood donor dog and on more than one occasion, when an emergency situation has arisen, his gift of blood has saved the life of a dog in need.
Tread has not always led such a glamorous life. In fact, when Tread first came to Van Isle Vet, he was brought in by the SPCA who found him lying in a ditch. He had been hit by a car and suffering from multiple fractures to the pelvis. Luckily fate was in Tread’s favor that day because it was Dr. de Winter who took on the case and had the pleasure of looking after him. He spent a week in the hospital before it became clear that his owner was not coming back to take him home. Dr. de Winter couldn’t bear to part with him and thus Tread became the newest member of the de Winter Family.
After weeks of strict kennel rest and constant medications, Tread was once again able to enjoy a dog’s life of beaches, play dates and ball chasing. He still occasionally requires medications to treat the pain associated with his pelvic injuries but this doesn’t slow him down in the least.
At Van Isle Vet, when emergency situations arise and blood is required immediately, it is usually one of the staff’s dogs that are brought in to donate. This is quite safe if it is the first time the recipient dog has received a blood transfusion. This is because even if the blood types do not match, the recipient dog’s immune system has never been exposed to the other blood type and will not have antibodies against it. Thus the likelihood of an allergic reaction to the different blood type is rare. However, should the recipient dog require a second transfusion, blood typing is absolutely necessary or a universal donor required. Examples of emergency situations that would require an immediate blood transfusion include trauma involving internal bleeding, anemia and bleeding internal tumors.
Because there are 8 different canine blood types, ideally it is better to have both the donor and recipient dog blood tested to ensure their blood types are the same or to order in blood from a “universal donor”. Unfortunately, unless you live in a major city, it takes time to have universal blood shipped in or to have blood types tested.
This is where Tread comes in. As far as blood donors go, Tread is an absolute superstar. The donor dog must be young (under 8 years old), healthy, and at least 50 pounds. Tread is a large dog, in excellent health and a universal donor! Where Tread really shines is in his willingness to give blood. In order to get the amount of blood required, we have to place a fairly large needle in the jugular vein and the donor dog must stay very still. All of our donor dogs have to be sedated or even placed under an anesthetic to tolerate the needle and to stay quiet and still. Not Tread! He is such a good boy, he comes in as calm as a cucumber, lies down on the table while his “Mom” places the needle and remains still throughout the whole process. All he asks for is a pat on the head and a handful of treats when the procedure is over. For this reason, if he hasn’t donated recently, Tread is usually our first choice as a blood donor.
Tread was fortunate enough to be given a second chance at life. It is through this second chance that he has been able to “pay it forward” and give the same gift to many other dogs. He is truly a special dog and we at Van Isle are lucky to know him!
