June 24, 2004|By Jessie Parker | Jessie Parker,SUN STAFF
Sunny sat down and made himself comfortable, preparing to donate blood. A technician talked to him as he was sanitized with surgery soap and alcohol, and Sunny barely winced when the needle entered his vein. The procedure was relatively routine except for one thing: Sunny is a dog.
The Eastern Veterinary Blood Bank held a canine blood drive yesterday at the Airpark Animal Hospital in Westminster.
Veterinarians from the blood bank travel around the Mid-Atlantic region four days a week to collect blood from dogs, which have 13 blood types. Like humans, dogs sometimes require blood transfusions for surgery or after accidents.
Veterinarian Steve Kubelun and his technician, Christian Bocchichio, saw about 18 canine donors at the hospital, most of them regular donors. To find potential donors, they screened several other dogs for wellness and temperament.
"During the initial exam, we screen out dogs who we don't think can tolerate it," Kubelun said. "Sometimes dogs are worked up because the owner had a hectic day, but rarely do we have to forego donation."
Donations were done by appointment. Most owners waited in the hospital lobby while Kubelun and Bocchichio brought dogs one by one into a back room for the 15-minute procedure.
Sunny, a 13-month-old German shepherd, gave blood for the second time. While Bocchichio let Sunny snack on Pro Plan Biscuits and Snausages, Kubelun gave him a brief examination.
"It's like McDonald's for them," Bocchichio said.
Sunny's owner, Albert Younger of Westminster, shaved off a square inch of his coat, before Kubelun applied antiseptic and inserted the needle into his jugular. Sunny fidgeted slightly and placed his front paws on Kubelun's leg while the veterinarian was kneeling. A pump took a few minutes to fill a pint-sized bag with blood.
"He's a clown," Younger said. "The shepherds that we breed are all like him, great big fluff balls that love everyone."
Kubelun checked Sunny's gum color and heart rate to monitor the dog's health during the procedure.
"Very rarely do we have a dog react to the needle shot itself," Kubelun said. "Usually it's the noise, the restraint and the smells."
Sunny received a Fourth of July bandanna for giving blood.
Younger brought in Sunny and two other German shepherds, 5-year-old Greta and 13-month-old Evie. Both also donated blood.
Generally, donors lie on a table and are closely held by the technician, but Younger's dogs sat still for the process. Kubelun said not all dogs are comfortable with the submissive position of lying down, so he tries to tailor the process for each dog.
"They're very patient in teaching them what to do, and they take care of them," said Kathe Lippy of Hampstead, who brought in her two black labs, 4-year-old Barney and 6-year-old Jake, to give blood.
Dogs must be at least 9 months old and weigh 35 pounds to donate blood. They donate half a pint unless they're over 55 pounds, in which case they can donate a pint. Donors must wait seven weeks before giving blood again, Kubelun said, and can donate until they are about 8 years old.
Bill Norvell, a local firefighter, brought in his 4-year-old basset hound, Fred, to donate for the third time. He said his wife was interested in Fred being a donor partly because he required two surgeries when he was 8 months old, one of which was to reattach his inner eyelids.
When Fred's turn came to donate, he lay on the examination table with his head on a pillow.
The hound patiently waited and wagged his tail while his blood was taken. When Bocchichio, placed Fred back on the floor, the dog quickly rolled onto his back so he could get a belly rub.
"He's a laid-back dog," Norvell said.
