ClazUK Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Today we had a visit from Pet Blood Bank UK, the new charity set up to ensure pet blood supplies are available across the UK. Their head office is in nearby Loughborough and their Executive Director, Wendy, is married to one of the vets at our vet practice, Chine House. Because we deal with greyhounds, the 'ultimate donor dog', it seemed obvious that we should work with them. So today we held a blood clinic at the kennels and managed to increase their supplies by 6 units. Chris (Yeti) and Gill brought along the Beastly Beasts and Troy, Monty and Kai were able to donate. Nemo, our Warrington boy, gave a unit, and 2 White Lodge stripey hounds, Lucy & Hooch, made up the other 2 units. Pet Blood Bank desperately need to recruit new donors, should you want to be considered, please visit their website at http://www.petbloodbankuk.org/ If you would like your pet to be considered as a donor there are certain criteria they need to meet:Donors should have a good temperament, be aged between one and eight years old, weigh more than 25 kilos should not have travelled abroad should be up-to-date on all vaccinations should be fit and healthy And at the present time you’ll need to be able to be within a 2 hour drive of Loughborough. Chris (Beastly Beast) will be along in a bit to post pictures, so you can see just how stress free (for the dogs ) the whole process is. Per dog it took about 30 minutes including screening. The blood-letting process was between 5 minutes and 15 (for laid-back Kai ). I think we all went home today with a fuzzy feeling that our dogs will probably help save the lives of other dogs. A really worthwhile way to spend a few hours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudi Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 I use Chine House and wondered about seeing if Rudi could be a donor as he's super laid back at the vet. I have wondered what was involved, so pictures will be great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClazUK Posted April 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Hi Rudi, I didn't realise you were nearby. They first do a questionnaire, your dog needs to be up to date with vaccs and medication free for at least 2 weeks. A small sample of blood is screened and if they are happy with it, they then take the unit (approx 1 pint). The dog is laid down (in our case on the food prep surface!) and is kept calm during the 'letting' process. This bit is really important as they have a needle in the neck and really need to keep completely still during that time. The Pet Blood Bank are going to be turning up at our next monthly walk - Beacon Hill, 2pm, Easter Sunday - so you could always come to meet them if you have any questions you'd like to ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillyMalc Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 I was eager to put at least Kiera forward for a donation as soon as I heard of it. Unfortunately none of our muttley crew complies with the requirements (either too light, too old, or from abroad) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClazUK Posted April 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 BTW, I'm pretty sure Ireland is not classed as abroad, as most of our greys originated from there, including 4 that donated today. Not sure if it was Ireland you were referring to, but thought it worth mentioning, anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendbert Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Well done Beastly Beasts and Loj Dogs Sadly neither of mine qualify so we can't donate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathyw Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Grip used to and Elsa was donating at my vets, but is now too old, Cb is waiting to be called upon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helly Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 of my lot, lee (grey) and benson (rottie) are both listed as emergency blood donors at my vets. Boggy was on the list but he is too old now. archie isnt laid back enough to let anyone stick a needle in him bless him. my vets all have lurchers and use their own dogs quite often but its nice to know, in an emergency im only 10 mins up the road and my lot can do something usefull Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoebejo Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 I looked into doing it with Lizzie a few years ago but she wasn't heavy enough. Mind you she's a bit of a porker nowadays so she might scrape in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannej Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 I took Harry and Woody a few weeks ago to Chine House for this. They were both little stars and am amazed Woody stayed still for so long. OH and I went home feeling really good about what our dogs had done.We were so proud of them. So,if you are thinking of letting your dog donate and it is a suitable donor,then please do it.You wont regret it. My two will be wearing their PBB bandanas on the WL walk. Suzanne Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kats n greys Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 We've thought about ours doing this, but unfortunately only Lloyd qualifies (and I'm not sure if he'd be calm enough). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abigailj Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 Roar-ee is signed up to this. Didn't know you were having a donor day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClazUK Posted April 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 I took Harry and Woody a few weeks ago to Chine House for this. Suzanne, you will be pleased to know that all the stored PBB supplies were used up last week on emergencies, so Harry & Woody are literally lifesavers now Roar-ee is signed up to this. Didn't know you were having a donor day It was very last minute, Abigail - they were running out of supplies and called us yesterday morning to sort this out. They could only take and store 6 units away from a vets, and I was confident we could muster up 6 dogs between us. Give them a call and let them know you're prepared to travel over this way - it's possible you could do the next one at Chine House, which I think is next Saturday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzannej Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 (edited) Oh Claire I have gone all goose bumps, I had a call yesterday asking if I could take Woody and Harry again next sat and I said of course.Received a call half an hour later and Wendy had decided as it was just under a month when my two gave blood,it was really too soon. It just shows you how important this is if the blood bank is empty already. Suzanne I'm sure they are doing it Good Friday aswell as the sat. Edited April 1, 2007 by Suzannej Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yeti Posted April 1, 2007 Report Share Posted April 1, 2007 The full story of the Beastly Beasts giving blood is on BeastBlog (http://thebeastlybeasts.co.uk/beastblog. The title of the post says what I think about the Beasts and the others who donated blood (with due apologies to M People) What have your dogs done today to make you feel proud? So here goes with some pics (more on the blog) First off there is a quick once over to make sure the potential donor is up to it, then you need a quick shave: Then the needle goes is (note where Claire is looking ) Then lie down and let it flow (Note: the blank expression is totally normal for Troy ) About 10 minutes later - or as Claire said, 15 for Kai 'coz he was so laid back, it's job done, and they get a bandage round the neck for half an hour or so. Here's the Beasts a few minutes after giving blood. And with Wendy and Craig of Pet Blood Bank UK who collected the blood from the donors. This really is worth while. It doesn't take long, the dogs were totally fine about it (much to my surprise to be honest). Please visit their website (click the logo), and see if you and your hound can help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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