No blood banks for dogs in city, a stray saved Dadar family’s dog

Amid a lack of veterinary blood banks in the city the dog feeding community recently came to the rescue of Leo an ailing pet owned by a family residing at Dadar Parsi Colony ensuring that the canine got back on its feetLeo who is a partLabrador had experienced gastrointestinal bleeding after swallowing a stone On Friday night the canine received a fresh lease of life thanks to Rony a female stray that lives on the premises of the Taj Mahal Palace hotel in ColabaBenaifer Kerawala who along with her husband Nawzer has been taking care of Leo for more than five years said ldquoAround 15 days ago Leo swallowed a stone somehow which later started taking a toll on his body We admitted him to the Tata Trustsrsquo Small Animal Hospital on FridayrdquoRony the female stray who turned saviourldquoAs Leo was haemorrhaging blood a donor was urgently needed We were shocked to learn there are no blood banks for animals in Mumbai Desperate we circulated a message on WhatsApp Within two hours I received calls from Borivli Mulund Colaba Dadar Kemps Corner and many other placesrdquo she addedldquoSeveral dog feeders rushed to hospital with their strays After testing four of them it turned out that Ronyrsquos blood matched with that of Leo We fed Rony and later the blood transfusion took place Leorsquos condition was extremely critical but he was saved in the nick of timerdquo Benaifer saidLeo is out of danger and recovering at the hospitalTanya DrsquoSouza Ronyrsquos feederlsquoWe are gratefulrsquoNawzer said ldquoDonating blood is an act of amazing kindness Ronny is a godsent angel The Small Animal Hospital is in my opinion the safest and bestequipped facility for blood transfusions for dogs We are very grateful to Ronyrsquos feeder Tanya DrsquoSouza for her support and guidance We received numerous positive responses when we requested blood for Leo This shows that many people are willing to help but if a blood bank were set up in the city it would be a boon for all pet parents and bring peace of mind to doctorsrdquoDrsquoSouza said ldquoRony was found during the lockdown and since then she has been taking shelter at the entrance of the Taj hotel The BMC should create a blood bank for animals Animals too have the right to liferdquolsquoAwareness neededrsquoDr Rajiv Gaikwad head of medicine at Mumbai Veterinary College said ldquoWe have blood bank facilities but there is no awareness If blood is required we inform donors to arrange for blood for dogs in need There are only a few donors due to which our blood bank is not fully functional But we make arrangements as per requirements We also hold several awareness camps and request blood via Facebook Instagram and other social media platformsrdquoMitesh Samrathmal Jain honorary animal welfare representative of the Animal Welfare Board of India said ldquoEvery day we receive eight to 10 calls from those seeking blood for dogs We have many groups and we post their requirements on them If we get donors we have to conduct blood tests which is a timeconsuming process On Saturday I received a call from a Malad resident who needed blood for his pet So far none of the donorsrsquo blood matched that of the injured dog The BMC should set up a blood bank for animalsrdquo