Here’s one more activity you can do with your dog: Donate blood.

To help meet the growing demand for dog blood, the U.C. Davis Veterinary Hospital has started a blood bank for dogs. The bank contains 13 different blood types; vets can request any of the blood types at no cost.

Any healthy dog can be brought in to the hospital to donate blood.

The Davis hospital hopes to have the largest blood bank for dogs west of the Mississippi.

Dog blood banks are especially important for dogs who are part of K-9 units with the police, where injury risks are higher and the need for a blood transfusion is more likely.

Source: www.abc7.com 

K9 Commentary: 

I hope the idea of dog blood banks catches on and expands to other parts of the country. I’ve never thought about my dog ever needing a blood transfusion, but it’s definitely something I’d hope my vet was equipped for if it was ever necessary. I think it would be great to help out other dogs by signing up my dogs to donate blood. Shannon actually posted a link to a great story in the forum about an English mastiff that donates blood once every four weeks. I think we humans could definitely learn a few things from this dog!