Dog blood donation gives missing dog another chance at life

LANSING, Mich. (WILX/Gray News) - The Michigan State University Veterinary Medical Center blood donor program gave a missing dog another chance at life.

The MSU Veterinary Medical Center saves countless dogs day in and day out, but it wouldn’t be possible without the help of their canine donors.

Winter, the husky, broke free from her home in February and went missing.

When she was finally found, she was brought to the MSU veterinary clinic in rough shape, but with the help of their team and blood donor volunteers, she’s now back at home right where she belongs.

“I counted her out. You know, you never really want to give up hope, but there’s the realistic aspect of it. And honestly, I thought I’d never see her again,” said Brad Way, Winter’s owner.

Way’s dog, Winter, was missing for two and a half weeks. Way immediately took her to the MSU vet when she was finally found.

“When she first went in, she was very glazed over and really out of it,” said Way.

Winter stayed at the vet hospital for a little over a week fighting for her life, and MSU canine donor Basil was there to help.

“So they help out patients that are recovering from surgery, trauma—such as hit by cars or gunshot wounds—if they have immune-mediated diseases, or are suffering from cancer,” said Rose Wahl, veterinary technician.

All blood donors belong to people who live in the area or doctors or staff in the vet hospital. For dogs to donate blood, they have to be healthy and over 50 pounds.

“It’s really cool to see your dog’s blood going to one of your patients or another patient in the hospital that really needs it so you can kind of follow the whole thing through,” said Dr. Alyssa Zoto, an internal medicine resident.

Zoto has had blood donor dogs in the past, and when she adopted Basil, she knew she wanted to make her a donor.

“There’s some things that we can’t do, but having a family member in the household that can make that other difference is really amazing,” said Zoto. Donor dogs come in every four to six weeks to give blood, and veterinary technician Wahl said they barely feel it.

“They love the treats they like the extra time a lot of time we just play ball afterwards. Most of them love to come in here, so it’s a very rewarding part of my job,” said Wahl.

She said it’s also rewarding to see dogs helping out one another.

Without Basil’s help, Winter wouldn’t be back at home with her owner.

According to MSU, in 2021, the small animal clinic used 290 units of canine-packed blood cells and 83 units of canine plasma.

The vet clinic is always looking for more donors because blood is always needed.

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