Police dogs set to be blood hounds

[TribalRats]

Police dogs from Tayside and Fife are turning into blood hounds to save the lives of their four-legged friends.
Along with dogs from all police forces in Scotland, they are being registered as blood donors to help save the lives of canine casualties across the country.

Dog blood can only be stored for a short time, which means there is often not enough available to vets when it is needed.

To counter this, around 150 police dogs from across Scotland, including German shepherds, Labradors and springer spaniels, are being registered to donate blood at short notice.

Supt Kenny Sinclair from the Tayside Police Dog Section said, “Dog blood deteriorates very quickly. Despite the help of dog owners, there can be shortages and difficulty getting supplies at short notice.

“If any Scottish police dog required a blood transfusion we would expect them to have one. We used to take it for granted blood would be available and didn’t even consider where it came from.

“This scheme allows us a way of giving something back in a simple and obvious way. Hopefully our involvement will save many animal lives.”

Sgt David McKelvie, who is charge of Fife Police dog section, added, “By the very nature of the role our working dogs undertake, there is always a possibility of them becoming seriously injured.

“We would expect blood to be available for them so it is natural we would want to help others and I am delighted we are in a position to do this.”

Barbara Barnard of Blackness Veterinary Surgery in Dundee is backing the police’s new scheme.

“We currently rely on the pets’ family, friends and staff for blood and the involvement and support of the Scottish police forces in the dog blood scheme is very welcome.”

Dog owners can also register their pets in the blood donation scheme by visiting www.dogblooddonors.com