Post by CampWhippet on Mar 31, 2006 21:17:15 GMT -5
Blood bank faces big battle
The success of a local nonprofit blood bank for pets could be threatened by a lawsuit.
BY YVONNE CAREY
Special to The Miami Herald
When Fluffy, a boxer-pit bull mix, had depression, difficulty breathing and convulsions, owner Rick Johnson panicked.
'I kept wondering, `Could he have eaten rat poison? What could be causing this?' and going crazy trying to figure it out,'' Johnson said.
But Fluffy had not been poisoned with anticoagulant rodenticides, which deplete the body of vitamin K, a requirement for normal blood clotting.
Fluffy was a hemophiliac.
For Johnson, finding the proper coagulating component for Fluffy would become a quest.
Blood products were available only one unit at a time, and sometimes the wait exceeded four weeks.
The search led Johnson to start Sun States Animal Blood Bank, the only nonprofit, community-based companion animal donor blood bank in the nation.
Now the Fort Lauderdale-based Sun States, founded in 2003, is on a huge growth curve, Johnson said. And it is all by word of mouth.
Last month, Sun States had a blood drive at the Doggie Palooza pet expo at Happy Tails Dog Park in Plantation. The blood bank also recently had a drive at the Animal Recreation & Rehabilitation Center in Davie.
''We service 120 animal hospitals in the tri-county area,'' Johnson said.
Michelle Weaver, owner and director of the regional Friends of Greyhounds, said she did her homework on Sun States before bringing Peaches, her pet greyhound, to donate blood at the animal center in Davie.
''I have up to 50 dogs up for adoption at a time, so I researched them a long time,'' Weaver said. ``Greyhounds are not your usual rescued dog. They're bred to work, and they sometimes suffer terrible abuse by their owners. But we're a huge proponent of Sun States. And now we can offer people who adopt our dogs animal blood type and health information previously unavailable to us. Most are universal donors, and one donation can save up to four dogs.''
The dogs are prescreened for infectious diseases and are limited to donating once every eight weeks, Johnson said. All work is done by individuals with backgrounds in both human and animal medicine, he said. Processing fees vary.
The one cloud on Sun States' horizon is a legal battle with the for-profit Animal Blood Bank, of Dixon, Calif., over Sun States' inclusion of the word 'Animal' in its name, which is siphoning off donation money.
Early this month, the blood bank received its latest legal bill for $28,000. Johnson, who is selling his Wilton Manors home to pay the bill, said no other blood bank has offered assistance, although the suit could be expanded to include others. ''If anybody wants to help us, we need it,'' Johnson said.
For information, call 954-630-2231 or visit www.ssabb.org.
Full story here: www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/cities_neighborhoods/plantation_sunrise/14118563.htm
The success of a local nonprofit blood bank for pets could be threatened by a lawsuit.
BY YVONNE CAREY
Special to The Miami Herald
When Fluffy, a boxer-pit bull mix, had depression, difficulty breathing and convulsions, owner Rick Johnson panicked.
'I kept wondering, `Could he have eaten rat poison? What could be causing this?' and going crazy trying to figure it out,'' Johnson said.
But Fluffy had not been poisoned with anticoagulant rodenticides, which deplete the body of vitamin K, a requirement for normal blood clotting.
Fluffy was a hemophiliac.
For Johnson, finding the proper coagulating component for Fluffy would become a quest.
Blood products were available only one unit at a time, and sometimes the wait exceeded four weeks.
The search led Johnson to start Sun States Animal Blood Bank, the only nonprofit, community-based companion animal donor blood bank in the nation.
Now the Fort Lauderdale-based Sun States, founded in 2003, is on a huge growth curve, Johnson said. And it is all by word of mouth.
Last month, Sun States had a blood drive at the Doggie Palooza pet expo at Happy Tails Dog Park in Plantation. The blood bank also recently had a drive at the Animal Recreation & Rehabilitation Center in Davie.
''We service 120 animal hospitals in the tri-county area,'' Johnson said.
Michelle Weaver, owner and director of the regional Friends of Greyhounds, said she did her homework on Sun States before bringing Peaches, her pet greyhound, to donate blood at the animal center in Davie.
''I have up to 50 dogs up for adoption at a time, so I researched them a long time,'' Weaver said. ``Greyhounds are not your usual rescued dog. They're bred to work, and they sometimes suffer terrible abuse by their owners. But we're a huge proponent of Sun States. And now we can offer people who adopt our dogs animal blood type and health information previously unavailable to us. Most are universal donors, and one donation can save up to four dogs.''
The dogs are prescreened for infectious diseases and are limited to donating once every eight weeks, Johnson said. All work is done by individuals with backgrounds in both human and animal medicine, he said. Processing fees vary.
The one cloud on Sun States' horizon is a legal battle with the for-profit Animal Blood Bank, of Dixon, Calif., over Sun States' inclusion of the word 'Animal' in its name, which is siphoning off donation money.
Early this month, the blood bank received its latest legal bill for $28,000. Johnson, who is selling his Wilton Manors home to pay the bill, said no other blood bank has offered assistance, although the suit could be expanded to include others. ''If anybody wants to help us, we need it,'' Johnson said.
For information, call 954-630-2231 or visit www.ssabb.org.
Full story here: www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/local/states/florida/counties/broward_county/cities_neighborhoods/plantation_sunrise/14118563.htm
