A blood donation program for dogs at a Greater Moncton vet hospital has been saving canine lives for about two years now.
Jacqueline Duguay is a vet technician at the Riverview Animal Hospital and coordinates the blood donor program.
She says a donor animal has to meet certain criteria and currently the program has about 12 to 15 donors on standby.
“Really well-mannered dogs, that aren't anxious, in the weight range of 50 pounds and up, usually (between) the age of one to eight and in good health,” says Duguay.
Deb Levasseur says her two-year-old greyhound Laci is like no other dog she has had. She's more than just a pet, she’s a family member.
“She is just the sweetest dog ever and we are just so grateful that we had people step up and give to the program,” says Levasseur.
Laci was injured two months ago and there were complications.
“She had lost so much blood from her injury,” says Levasseur. “Then when the bleeding started the next day, which we didn't know this was going to occur, she was already so low that without having blood she was going downhill fast, she probably wouldn’t have made it.”
Ratchet is a pit bull cross. The one-year-old dog has a negative blood type and has done three blood transfusions.
Ratchet's first chance to be a donor was back in October, when a dog, Meliva, was brought to the hospital by a Kent County animal rescuer.
Meliva had been shot twice near Rexton, N.B. and had lost three-quarters of her blood.
Susanne Elliot, a vet tech at the hospital and ratchet's owner, says Meliva is now thriving in a new home in Saint John.
“She is doing fantastic now. She has actually integrated into a house wonderfully and she is a really good dog now,” says Elliot.
Duguay says the blood donor program has saved a lot of lives, but it's how it makes the injured dog's owner feel, that is rewarding to witness.
“They are speechless most times,” says Duguay. “They can’t thank us enough or thank the donor enough.”
With files from CTV Atlantic's David Bell
