Pets need blood donations, too
And it desperately needs donations.
Bailey is the just the cutest little pooch you've ever seen.
"He's like a child to me," said owner Meagan Fouty.
Fouty got quite a scare last summer when Bailey was bitten by a spider and went into shock.
'And he just fell over and I put him on the ground, and he fell over again," she said. "So I rushed him to urgent care because it was after hours."
Fouty brought Bailey to ACCESS -- Animal Critical Care Emergency Services in Lake City. He was in bad shape.
"And they said, 'Come say your goodbyes in case he doesn't make it,"' she said.
With Bailey's blood pressure dropping, the veterinarians decided to give him a blood transfusion.
And it worked.
"I couldn't imagine losing him, so I was pretty happy when he got his transfusion and things turned around," said Fouty.
Before Bailey fell ill, Fouty, like most pet owners, had never heard about animal blood transfusions.
It just so happens that ACCESS is the local blood bank.
"We constantly need blood products here in the county," said Allison Deitz, a licensed vet technician who runs the ACCESS blood bank.
Deitz says red blood cells only last six weeks, which means there's a constant need for donations. And the bank's supply of cat blood is critically short.
The technician believes the critters have some idea of just what happens at the blood bank.
"I think some do," she said. "I think that they know it's a job that they come in. They have to lie on the table for five minutes, and they get their treats and their toys. And I think that a lot of them are doing it not necessarily for me, but for their owner, because it's making their owner happy."
And the owners are doing it because they want to help other animal lovers.
Meet some of the donors.
A kitty named Chaos has already given blood twice . His mom, Marissa Green, know how important it is to give blood.
"I'm a nurse, so I donate blood myself," she said. "So when I heard they do that for animals, I leapt at the chance. I thought, 'Pets are some people's children, and there's no reason not to help them if I can."'
And Chaos doesn't seem to mind. The staff showers him with attention and a lot of liver treats.
Christie Malchow's dogs, Titan and Fletcher, have been regular donors for a couple of years now.
"Knowing that these guys can donate for another family and maybe help save the grief of losing their pet is very rewarding," she said.
To be a donor, a dog or cat must be 1 to 5 years old and in good health. The animal must have not been used for breeding or ever have received a transfusion.
A donor dog must be willing to lie still for 10 minutes. Cats are sedated.
A number of veterinarians run smaller blood banks around Western Washington. For additional information, consult your veterinarian.
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