'A necessary evil': The captive dogs whose blood saves lives

Los Angeles Times ^ | December 17, 2024 3:00 AM PT | Melody Gutierrez, Alene Tchekmedyian

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Inside a subzero freezer at a Northern California pet hospital sit rows of carefully labeled bags of fresh frozen plasma. Each pouch could save a pet’s life: a retriever that ingested poison, a corgi with a bleeding disorder, a puppy with parvovirus.

While the pouches each look the same, their straw-colored contents come from starkly different places. Some of the blood products are from dogs like Augustus, a 55-pound Belgian Malinois whose owner signed him up to donate blood at a canine community blood bank, which is modeled after the human volunteer system.

Other bags hold a more controversial history. Their contents come from donor kennels in California, where hundreds of dogs and cats live in “closed colonies” as full-time blood suppliers. These captive animals have long provided a steady stream of blood to meet the state’s surging demand for advanced veterinary care.

For decades, California veterinarians were required to buy blood exclusively from closed colonies in the state, a system regulators decided would ensure the products were safe and the donors free of diseases. Veterinary hospitals that collected blood in-house for their patients weren’t allowed to sell it.

The law, however, included critical caveats: Only closed colonies for dogs would be shut down, and that phaseout would begin after community blood banks — where owners volunteer their pets to give blood — consistently matched their output.

After three years, they’re not even close. California’s closed colonies continue to supply the bulk of canine blood sold in the state.

Without the blood supplied by captive donors, veterinarians say, many other dogs in critical need would die from injuries and disease. But this poses a dilemma for those who want to see the closed colonies shut down.

The Times found that the closed colonies produced more than 97% of canine blood...

[EinNYC]

Whereas they supply a vital function for many pets, I certainly hope that the “captive colony” dogs also have fulfilling lives. I hope they get petted, played with, fed treats, and all the other things a dog should experience. I’d hate to think of them simply caged and fed, waiting for a needle to withdraw yet more blood.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Our two indoor cats give blood twice a year. The outdoor can not.

And that is the problem, especially with dogs. They are outdoor animals, especially the big ones that can give a great deal of blood. But you let them run around outside and they can not donate.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Whereas they supply a vital function for many pets, I certainly hope that the “captive colony” dogs also have fulfilling lives.

I wouldn't count on it.

[broken_clock]

There was such a place in Garden Grove, Ca. It was called Hemopet and they used rescue racetrack greyhounds for one year of blood donations before adopting them out.

We would adopt three wonderful greyhounds from Hemopet. Alas the political geniuses shut the adoption part of it down along with the blood donations.

[Faith65]

It is terribly upsetting to see these dogs caged like this. How sad. It’s cruel.

[CatHerd]

It’s all so sad. Our vet (before he retired — miss him so!), had a huge office cat (one of the biggest cats I’ve everseen) who was blood donor for his patients in need. That cat was doted on by our vet, his staff and all his clients. Everyone loved that big old pussycat. He was very laidback, very sweet, loved his ear scritches and treats, and seemed quite happy.