QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Sport, an energetic English springer spaniel, bounced onto the University of Pennsylvania's canine bloodmobile, his ears flopping.
Like Pavlov's dogs, experience had taught him to expect a treat and he was already looking for it.
"I swear he knows," said Elaine Gorman, who brought Sport to the blood drive at a school in Bucks County, about 40 miles from Philadelphia. "He sees the bus and he knows he's going to get a treat."
The dog-only bloodmobile is the only one of its kind in the country, officials at the Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine believe. The white bus travels to blood drives organized by breeders, dog clubs, veterinarians and others in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland to collect blood for its well-known veterinary hospital.
"We can't ask the dog for the donation, but we most certainly will not force any dog to donate blood," said Urs Giger, head of the veterinary school's transfusion medical program. "In other words, these dogs are good-tempered dogs that are not stressed by the procedure."
Sport, who made his ninth visit to the Penn Animal Bloodmobile on Tuesday, didn't seem stressed as he lay on a metal table so a veterinary technician could shave a patch of his silky fur and draw a pint of blood from a jugular vein.
The number of pets donating blood has increased, but transfusions also are on the rise, partly because more people are opting to have their dogs undergo lifesaving surgery, said Wendy Hatchett, a veterinary technician.
"For the last 1 1/2 years, we haven't had enough because more people are using it," said Hatchett, who spoke sweetly to Sport on Tuesday as she slid a needle into his neck. "Now, (blood transfusions) are becoming more and more common all around the country."
The rest of the story.
~~~~~~~~
What a great idea! A bloodmobile for dogs...
Like Pavlov's dogs, experience had taught him to expect a treat and he was already looking for it.
"I swear he knows," said Elaine Gorman, who brought Sport to the blood drive at a school in Bucks County, about 40 miles from Philadelphia. "He sees the bus and he knows he's going to get a treat."
The dog-only bloodmobile is the only one of its kind in the country, officials at the Penn's School of Veterinary Medicine believe. The white bus travels to blood drives organized by breeders, dog clubs, veterinarians and others in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland to collect blood for its well-known veterinary hospital.
"We can't ask the dog for the donation, but we most certainly will not force any dog to donate blood," said Urs Giger, head of the veterinary school's transfusion medical program. "In other words, these dogs are good-tempered dogs that are not stressed by the procedure."
Sport, who made his ninth visit to the Penn Animal Bloodmobile on Tuesday, didn't seem stressed as he lay on a metal table so a veterinary technician could shave a patch of his silky fur and draw a pint of blood from a jugular vein.
The number of pets donating blood has increased, but transfusions also are on the rise, partly because more people are opting to have their dogs undergo lifesaving surgery, said Wendy Hatchett, a veterinary technician.
"For the last 1 1/2 years, we haven't had enough because more people are using it," said Hatchett, who spoke sweetly to Sport on Tuesday as she slid a needle into his neck. "Now, (blood transfusions) are becoming more and more common all around the country."
The rest of the story.
~~~~~~~~
What a great idea! A bloodmobile for dogs...
