Greyhounds serve fellow dogs

By Marty Metzger
North Forty News

Dog breeds often touted as rescuers are St. Bernards wearing keg collars and bloodhounds utilizing magnificent noses. Shepherd types win accolades protecting sheep from predators. But when it comes to saving fellow canines, greyhounds run circles around all other breeds. They're blood brothers to all.

When a dog suffers an accident, has anemia or is receiving chemotherapy, its care might require a transfusion. Blood from commercial banks is available for sale to veterinarians. But that supply is limited because it must be used within 30 days. As with humans, canines all have specific blood types and can't tolerate others. Therefore, another solution must bridge the gap. Enter the greyhound.

The breed is unique in that 60 to 70 percent of its individuals carry rare A-negative blood, the universal type tolerated by all dogs. Less than 15 percent of other breeds are A-negative.

Maura Green has served as director of Colorado State University's Small Animal Blood Donor Program since 1987. Through its efforts and local greyhounds' donations, critical needs can be met. Green said that the universal type is used in emergencies when time constraints prohibit typing. Some dogs can't be typed because they have autoimmune disease that causes a false positive type. Other canines' bone marrow doesn't make new red blood cells quickly enough. The universal type lessens chances of reaction.

Greyhound donors come from within the local community and must be pets in stable, private homes, Green said. The breed's rescue groups tell customers about the Colorado State program, and many generously choose to volunteer their animals. Currently, about 30 regular donors participate once every two months. Dogs must be in good health and between 1 and 13 years old to give blood.

The procedure itself is easy for the mellow greyhound. They willingly jump up onto a table, Green said, while other breeds almost always require sedation. Each donor session takes about 15 minutes to draw 450 cubic centimeters, the same amount as human donors. Even the collection bags are identical.

Greyhounds get some perks in exchange for their valuable services. As compensation, each receives 40 pounds of dog food (acquired by CSU at low cost from manufacturers). Also, donor dogs get free blood work and infectious disease screenings. When they retire, they receive a list of the recipients and diseases or injuries of the dogs they helped save.

One veteran of the CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital's program is a handsome blue-grey boy with a white patch on his chest. Grendel, owned by Nicole Branton and Dan Kipervaser, is an 11-year-old neutered male that became a regular donor in 2004.

Branton said that when she and her husband moved from Tucson, Ariz., to Fort Collins in 2001 they wanted to volunteer their dog, Shiva, as a donor. But the female greyhound didn't have the universal blood type.

Kipervaser, vice president of Friends of Retired Greyhounds, and Branton also volunteered as a foster family for the group. Grendel, quipped Branton, was their foster "failure," as they soon adopted him.

Shortly thereafter, they had Grendel tested and were delighted to learn that his blood type was A-negative. Once every two months since then he's happily given blood. Shiva, now 10, lends moral support.

Branton said that Grendel hops right up on the table, quietly waits while a spot is shaved and a needle inserted, and then just lies there...and drools! He's a poster pup for relaxation with a cold, wet nose. Branton believes that Greyhounds become tolerant of human touch because they're constantly handled while in racing. That concession to the human species, coupled with couch-potato temperament, makes the breed ideal blood donors.

Even though Grendel isn't yet a retired donor, Kipervaser was shown a record of all the dogs that have used his pet's blood. To date, Grendel has given 36 units of blood. Recipients include a mixed breed hit by a car, a Labrador retriever with a splenic tumor, a border collie with abdominal bleeding, a Jack Russell terrier with a heart defect and a German shepherd with immune meditated hemolytic anemia. Branton said that puts it in perspective to learn the many scenarios that have had good outcomes thanks in part to Grendel.

Anyone whose dog receives a lifesaving transfusion might well owe a debt of gratitude to a greyhound. How fortunate it is that blood, which once pumped through the heart and veins of that fastest breed, can restore vigor to all dogs.