Canadian Animal Blood Bank celebrates its doggy-donors in Winnipeg

The Canadian Animal Blood Bank held an appreciation day for donors and their owners on Wednesday.

The bank collects blood from dogs, cats and even some zoo animals.

The blood is then used for emergency treatments of pets or other animals.

"I have one owner she has two huskies that donate both of them have donated over 23 times," said Beth Knight, who has worked at the bank for more than five years. "We so appreciate the time these owners have spent."

The bank was founded in Winnipeg and now has offices in Edmonton and a once-a-month collection service Toronto.

Occasionally, the bank gets a call from a vet for a very specific type of animal.

The Edmonton Zoo recently had a newborn big-horn sheep that was in trouble, so they called the bank and arranged for plasma services to help it survive.

"We've been approached by a couple of veterinarians that maybe we should have some alpaca-type plasma available because I guess they are notorious for having failing-to-thrive newborns," said Knight.

Their most common donors are dogs, and they're specially selected by their vets based on their health and temperament.

"Probably the biggest challenge are Huskies the last thing they want to do is be pinned. They are our biggest challenge," she said.

The process takes about 15 minutes, and dogs get a treat and a few pets afterward.

Knight said she knows of cases where the plasma helped saved the lives of family pets.

"[The blood is] a stop gap to allow the pet enough time for recovery or waiting until the drugs kick in," she said.

Anyone interested in donating can talk to their veterinarian, Knight said.