Arnold - one of my dogs. The most affectionate, sweetest, always knew when I was down and could always make me feel better.

Born April 25th 1995, lost to Canine Immune Mediated Hemolytic Anemia (IMHA) on March 14th 2008.

Part Dachshund, Part Chihauhau, Part Cocker, Part Schnauzer, All adorable. He meant more to me than most people can imagine. He was born in my house. I still have his brother and his mother. I have not felt a loss this close to my heart in my entire life. He was more than a pet, more than my baby, he was therapy, he was support, he was my snuggly teddy bear that loved me and showed it right up to the last moments that we were together - barely able to move and yet lifting his head to get closer to me and put his chin on my arm, looking up at me with those big brown eyes...it breaks my heart that I could not save him.

We did everything possible to treat him, sadly it is one of those conditions that is either treatable or not and in Arnold's case, nothing we did seemed to help. Everything I have read on the subject at least eases my mind that there was nothing I could have done differently. It was just his time.

I am posting this here because one of the treatments for this condition is a blood transfusion. Pretty much every major community has at least one large emergency veterinarian clinic that should also have a blood bank or know of one. They need donors. If you have a healthy dog please take him or her in for a screening to donate blood so that dogs like my Arnold can be giving a fighting chance when the need arises.

Our vet didn't have a blood bank but we have another dog that is quite large and so we took him in and he provided the blood transfusions that gave Arnold his last hope at survival.

Ideally the blood should be typed and filtered as to concentrate the platelets but in an emergency you take what you can get. And canines only have 2 or 3 major blood types with the most common being a universal donor type. Plus they are not as sensitive to the difference as humans are.

As care givers and emergency personnel you all know the value of blood donations and organ transplants to the human population. And most folks that care enough to dedicate themselves to the care of others generally have pets themselves. It is not widely known that dogs and cats can even donate or receive blood from others but I believe that after Katrina it has become far more common.

A simple google search for Canine or Feline Blood Bank in your state will give the listing of the facilities to contact.

I hope that none of your pets ever needs such treatment - but imagine the feeling it would give you to know that your dog saved another dogs life with no more than a 1/2 cup of their blood and a few hours of your time.

Thank you all.