Your dog can give blood too!

My sister e-mailed me about an animal blood bank in Seattle which I had never really considered before and once I did, I thought (as did she) this would be an interesting thing to mention on the blog.... who knew???

Learning about dog blood banks caused me to see if there was a similar service in Chicagoland. Somewhat unsurprisingly given the size of the city and the vast number of dogs who live here, there is at least one local canine blood bank: Chicago Veterinary Emergency Services has a blood bank and actively seeks canine blood donors.

During my research I found a report in the Chicago Tribune that there is a national shortage of dog and cat blood, particularly dog A negative blood. While I suspect this story is an example of public relations cleverly packaged as news, the story also serves to raise awareness. The link to Hemosolutions is a giveaway that they have "created" news to promote their services, but at least now people know about an apparent shortage of dog blood for transfusions, at least in Colorado.

Animal blood banks seem to be a fairly new phenomenon. This raises the question of where most of the blood needed for surgeries or transfusions comes from. There is a clue on the Hemosolutions website where they write "rather than using kennel kept dogs as many blood banks do" they seek out dogs that live with people. I'd really just as soon not think of special kennels for doggie donors....

Alas, dogs need to be at least 50 - 55 lbs to be a candidate for giving blood, so unfortunately Phoebe doesn't qualify.... which is probably just as well because I don't think she would be a willing participant. But if you have a dog of the right size and temperament, being a donor is definitely something worth considering.

February is Stop Canine Obesity Month

So we’re a little late to the party here in Two Wet Nose land, but today I learned that February is Stop Canine Obesity Month and American Heart Month. I think these two months go very well together because if you do something about one – work with your dog to help prevent it from becoming obese, or work on yourself to improve your heart health, perhaps in both instances by doing some exercise and modifying your own and your dog's diet, both you and your dog can benefit.

According to the American Heart Association, heart disease is the number one killer of both men and women in the United States.

In addition, apparently 25 to 40 percent of U.S. dogs – approximately 17 million – are overweight or obese.

I have to confess that I find canine obesity to be quite troubling…. After all, even if you have a dog prone to obesity – and I had a beagle, so I am very familiar with dogs that will eat whatever is put in front of them…. and more! - canine obesity is ultimately the result of humans who either feed their dogs too much food or the wrong kind of food, or don’t exercise them enough. Part of the responsibility of dog ownership is to do what is necessary to keep the creature healthy.

So, a campaign has been launched to address canine obesity…. And while I’m a little cynical about the fact that it is co-sponsored by Pfizer who oh so conveniently has developed a drug (Slentrol) to help manage doggie obesity, the overall effort is a worthwhile one…. Hopefully many of us can do what is necessary to keep our dogs fit and trim without Pfizer’s drug.

During February, you can take your dog to a participating veterinarian for a free weight assessment. Visit www.StopCanineObesity.com to do a body assessment check for your dog (Phoebe isn't obese!) and/or find a local veterinarian who is participating in the National Canine Weight Check and see when the free weight checks are being offered.

Here's to your own and your dog's good health!