We hear a lot about the need for human blood. Not so much about dogs. Michigan State University student Emma Beach is trying to change that.
Beach, who spent her summer as a veterinary assistant at the Oakland Veterinary Referral Services emergency hospital in Bloomfield Township, built a public website to make canine blood donation easier to find and understand. “Raising awareness and education for canine blood donations. So, I made a public website for people where they can find blood banks to donate or if they need blood for their animals,” Beach said.
Her push is already making waves. Staff at the hospital told her donations ticked up after her project launched. “I don’t know the exact number, but there was an increase in donations coming specifically here after the project,” Beach said.
The initiative also earned Beach two of Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan’s highest recognitions: the Gold Award and the Council’s Young Woman of Distinction scholarship. “It was extraordinary. Her project proposal was something our committee had never seen before,” said Jan Robertjohn of Girl Scouts of Southeast Michigan. “To be able to identify an issue and then address the need of that issue is really what we want girls to achieve.”
Beach’s passion for veterinary work started early. “I’ve always wanted to be a vet,” she said. At the hospital, she helps restrain animals in emergencies, assists with blood draws, takes vitals and monitors patients during procedures - experience that underscores the life-or-death importance of ready blood supplies for pets with severe illness or injury.
Dog blood donors generally should be 1-to-7 years old and weigh at least 50 pounds.
To learn more or register a dog as a donor, visit pumpingpups.org.
To watch the segment, click on the video above.