Raw Japan
Slices of Japanese business, politics and life
Donor dogs
The Japan Animal Referral Medical Centre in Kawasaki is not your typical veterinary clinic, as canine patients aren’t just suffering from colds but often potentially terminal illnesses, which you can sense from their owners in the lobby.
No one is talking about how cute their dog is, and it’s a quiet, hospice-type environment. So when four energetic dogs bounded into the waiting room, quite a few people wondered what was going on.
The dogs weren’t there for treatment, but instead to help with treatment. Pets obviously are not volitional blood donors, but their owners offered their healthy pets to donate to other dogs in need.
With no commercial blood banks for dogs, and a still-opaque Japanese regulatory situation, all clinics can do is hope that donors like “Kinjiro”, a German Shepherd, come forward.
