BENGALURU: Last Sunday at 11 pm, Vijay B V’s Shitzu went into labour and began to lose blood. When he rushed her to a clinic in Domlur, the doctors found that her blood counts were low. “It was happening to my dog for the first time. I reached out to a friend, who rushed there with his dog. I was lucky because I had someone to reach out to, a network I could rely upon at that hour. It would be helpful if there was a blood bank provided by the government or BBMP for dogs, so we don’t have to call others in that situation,” Vijay said.
Similarly, one morning, Satyanarayan Swamy received a call seeking help for a dog that needed blood in RT Nagar. He rushed to the clinic with his golden retriever, Don, who would be the donor.That hasn’t, however, been the only time that Don has proved to be a life-saver for a fellow canine. “Don has donated blood nine times in six years,” said Swamy, an IT professional who has received such calls at late night or even in the middle of a workday. “Most cases have involved tick fever, which is life-threatening. Depending on the location and the waiting time, I wrap up my work, pick up my dog from home, leave him for the donation, and return to work if needed,” he explained, adding that blood donation is everybody’s responsibility, even if the case involved a stray dog.
Swamy is one of the members of a network of dog lovers in the city, who help each other in times of distress, offering their dog for blood donation. The group functions through posts on Facebook groups, word of mouth, phone calls, and WhatsApp groups.
Two years ago, Priya Chetty-Rajagopal’s cocker spaniel was diagnosed with IMT (immune-mediated thrombocytopenia), wherein a dog’s body attacks its own platelets. “I posted on Facebook and WhatsApp groups. A person left his 40th birthday party and reached the clinic with his golden retriever to donate blood,” said Chetty, a CXO search consultant. “It took half an hour to determine if the blood groups would match. If we had a canine blood bank, we would not be in this situation. It was heartwarming to see seven people arrive at the clinic after seeing my request,” she added.
With the lack of a canine blood bank in Bengaluru, this voluntary network thrives on the compassion of dog lovers. The tough time faced by people in trying to arrange blood for their pets moved Mandy Vasudevan, an animal welfare worker, to start a canine blood donor database in Bengaluru.
“I started this five years ago, so potential donors can register with us. If someone contacts me in times of need, I send them the details of the donor, after looking at the location and their office timings. There are 50 people on the database, which is not enough. I get a minimum of one to as many as six calls a day seeking help for blood donation,” said Mandy, whose two labradors are blood donors too. “Time is of utmost importance in these life-threatening situations and people should not have to scramble. The transfusion takes 15 minutes, which could save another dog’s life,” she added.