Doggy Blood Donating

Hey Everyone

Just thought i would share this and hope some other people sign up (or find their local donating clinic)
Recently my mums dog Missy needed 3 blood transfusions, and without them she would not have survived, thanks to the doggy donators at the Queen Mother Hospital for animals she is back home with us
I have signed up my dog Viva for the programme. We go to our first meeting on monday 27th.
They are looking for more donators so please if your dog meets the requirements please consider it.

http://www.rvc.ac.uk/QMH/Specialities/BloodDonorClinic.cfm

Thanks for looking

Aww what was wrong with little Missy but glad she is better and home again

im sorry to hear that missy but i hope she is on the road to recovery

aw poor little missy, what happened hun, why did she need 3 blood transfusions

this is something that has cropped up before ... theres no way i could ever do this with fred... he wouldnt let them anywhere near them ... and bella is too nervous ...

its great that youre hoping to do it with viva though...

let us know how she gets on

Well.....
My mum and dad went on holiday about 4 weeks ago, so me and my sister was looking after the dogs (mum and dad got a new one, cant remember if i posted it on here, if not will do tomorrow when im pretending to work) anyway....

We took Missy to the vet as she had some marks on her skin, looked like deep bruises, the vet rushed and referred her straight to the Queen Mother Hospital for animals. Her platelet count was extremely low. Poor girl had so many tests there to find out what was going on with her, ultrasound, xray, blood tests every few days, bone marrow biopsy, and 3 blood transfusions. I think is called Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) that she has, where her platelet levels were so low her blood could not clot. She was there for about 3 weeks until she started to show signs of getting better. Due to her blood not being able to clot she had a few bleedings into her intestines which dropped her red blood cells by 50% hence the transfusions.
It seemed the 3rd transfusion, and the 2nd dose of a chemotherphy drug and steroids that seemed to help her start getting better, shes not 100% but shes on the right track now. Shes also got a urine infection so shes also on anti biotics.
We got her home on the 13th. All this happened when they were away so i was the vets main point of contact and decision maker they came back of holiday on the start of her 3 week of staying there, it was the most stressful 2 weeks of my life.
We couldnt visit her that often either as the hospital she was in is an hour and a halfs drive away, but the place is amazing, its at the royal veterinary college, i dont regret for one minute sending her there, i think anywhere else she wouldnt have survived, they have almost everything for everything on site.

crikey hun ... sounds a right ordeal ... fngers crossed she continues to get better

Aww poor little love,hope she continues to improve.

Jeez poor Missy thats terrible
Glad she is on the mend What causes that to happen Steff, is it her age?

Thanks everyone, has been stressful. Shes very quiet today bless her, shes joined me and Viva at work as mum is having to work.
I dont think they really know about the cause, it can be a number of things, the vet mentioned vaccinations, anaesthesia, anti bioctics etc. . Shes only 6 so its not like shes very old. She did go into the vets about 4 days before and put under local to have her anal glands flushed and was also on anti bioctics for an anal gland infection, so they think it may have been that but cant say for sure.

Heres an article about it that i found
http://www.gopetsamerica.com/dog-health/canine-idiopathic-thrombocytopenia.aspx

oh god i hope she keeps getting better

God could happen to any pet any time Quite worrying isnt it

Lets just be glad she is well and truely on the mend

thanks

Due to the blood donor nurse having to cover a shift in icu our monday app was cancelled but we are going tomorrow at 11am, will let you all know how we get on They may not take blood on the first app its all dependant on how Viva is with it all, they like to work around the dog rather than make them do it etc.

Awww poor Missy hope she continues to improve

Dont know if my dogs would be suitable to give blood after looking at the requirements

Relaxed and easy to handle just doesnt sound like either of them

Mickey gets hyped up and anxious when he goes to see the vet and Keira is a nutter who gets all excited because she loves the vets

Thanks, Missy had another blood test yesterday so just waiting for the result

Im not sure what Viva will be like as she loves the vets so i think she could be excitable but gonna give it a try, if shes a real drama then ill just have to say i wont be able to take her anymore. I am really hoping shes going to behave.