Oscar the dog has followed in his human’s footsteps and become a blood donor at Sydney’s Small Animal Specialist Hospital (SASH).
His owner, Alison Gould, is a regular blood donor. After making over 57 donations with the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, she decided to register Oscar to give blood at the canine blood bank.
Blood donation is just as important for pet dogs as it is for humans, especially for dogs that are victims of trauma, poisonings, auto-immune disease or bleeding associated with surgery.
It’s not exactly the same process, but the dogs are still screened and prepared prior to donation. And just like human blood donors, they also get a tasty treat after giving blood to help them recover.
Now that Oscar knows how simple it is to donate blood, if he could talk he’d be pointing a paw at human donors and saying ‘hey, it really is this easy to do – so make sure you give blood today.’
Both humans and dogs can donate blood every 12 weeks. But at this time of year, cold and flu symptoms deter people from donating. As many as 900 donors are cancelling each week due to feeling unwell.
This week, Australia needs an additional 2,000 human blood donors in order to bolster blood stocks for patients in need.
So take some inspiration from Oscar the dog and become a blood donor. Visit Australian Red Cross Blood Service website to make an appointment today.
And for any dogs that wish to donate, visit the Small Animal Specialist Hospital website for more information about becoming a canine blood donor.
