A province-wide shortage on donated animal blood prompted Victoria woman Kady Savard to take a unique approach to find blood for her friend鈥檚 dog, Angus.
Angus is a six-year old Rottweiler cross who was recently diagnosed with rare autoimmune disorder which causes his system to attack itself.
鈥淗e was just so lethargic, he got up and greeted his owners and then just teetered over and laid down,鈥� Savard said. 鈥淗e needs blood transfusions, and needs new platelets to help heal his system鈥� his platelets are so low that if he plays with another dog and gets a scratch, he could just bleed out.鈥�
Angus already received one blood transfusion at the Central Victoria Vet Clinic, the South-Island staple for blood donation and blood transfusion, which works in conjunction with the Canadian Animal Blood Bank.
He will need another transfusion, but his first round used the last batch of donated blood on hand. One more round has been ordered for Angus from out of province, and is scheduled to arrive Saturday.
鈥淏ut, the vets told us that if a dog comes in with a more urgent need Angus won鈥檛 have anything,鈥� Savard said. 鈥淎ngus and his owners are like family to me. A long time ago, my dog got hit by a car鈥� I had gone so far into financial debt from vet bills, that when they came in to ask for money to cremate the remains that I didn鈥檛 know what to do, and they stepped in and paid for it.鈥�
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So, Savard took to a local cashless trade Facebook group, This For That, in a desperate attempt to find a solution.
A screenshot from the Facebook group 'This For that' shows Savard's unique request. (Facebook/ This For That)
鈥淚鈥檒l cook you anything, I鈥檒l trade relatively anything for some help,鈥� Savard wrote. 鈥淚 will cook bake sing you a song you can have any item from my post in trade just seek any helpful resources for [a] large dog blood donation.鈥�
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Eligible dog donors would be between one and eight years old, and weigh more than 55 pounds.
Dogs, like humans, have different blood types. These types are different than human blood, and are categorized into seven different groups, which can often be determined by the dog鈥檚 size. The most common type is the Dog Erythrocyte Antigen (DEA) 1.1. Usually, a donation collects 450-500 mls, and dogs are eligible to donate every three months.
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The response to Savard鈥檚 post was overwhelming, with a dozen people stepping forward in the first two hours.
鈥淭his community is beautiful, the instant response warms my heart,鈥� Savard said. 鈥淓veryone is so ready to support one another鈥� anything is really possible, these small changes can make anything happen.鈥�
Through the group, a registered dog donor was found as a reliable back-up in case Angus needs more blood.
While the Facebook group is a trade group, Savard said no one has asked her for anything. As a musician and performer, she hopes to be able to offer them tickets to any upcoming shows she鈥檚 either in or aware of.
She鈥檚 also hoping the kindness put forward by others doesn鈥檛 go to waste, and wants to work with the vet and the Facebook group members to organize an animal blood drive in case any other dogs need a transfusion.
鈥淚 really want to encourage as many people as possible to register their dogs to donate,鈥� Savard said. 鈥淵ou never know when this will be necessary.鈥�
For more information about the Central Victoria Vet Clinic blood bank visit , or learn more about the Canadian Animal Blood Bank at
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