Hasta La Gadget!

Dogs can have both psychological and physical health benefits for humans, and we know they’ve saved human lives many times. But did you know that they can help save lives of other dogs, too?

A new video from BBC South Today demonstrates how dogs, like people, are capable of donating blood for use in transfusions for surgeries and other emergencies. A dog owner in the video explains that one round of donation can save as many as four other dogs, which, as he says, “is quite incredible.” 

The requirements for blood donation may differ slightly based on where you live, but Seattle-based veterinarian Beth Davidow, director of medical quality for BluePearl animal hospital and founder of the pet blood bank ACCES, told HuffPost the basic requirements in the U.S. are the same as those described in the BBC video. At her bank, staff typically accept blood from both cats and dogs between the ages of one and six, and stop taking donations from animal past the age of 9.

There’s also a weight requirement for dogs, thanks to the fact that a pup needs to be large enough to fill a bag not intended for canine donations. 

“There’s no specific blood bag made for dogs, so we’re using human blood bags,” Davidow said. “A 50-pound dog can donate safely the amount that will fill a blood bag.”

Worried the process might be uncomfortable for your pet? Davidow and the dog owners in the video seem to agree that it can actually be quite enjoyable. Dogs are given treats and toys during their appointment, and, according to Davidow, they “actually like it more the longer they do it.”

The process of preparing a dog for blood donation is simple.

“It’s just like if you or I were to give blood,” Davidow said. “You wanna make sure you eat, you don’t do something crazy after because you can be a little bit tired the next day. But many people tell us they can’t tell any difference at all afterward.”

There are more pet blood banks now than when Davidow founded ACCES in 2004, but she told Huffpost there’s still a shortage around the country. That could be due to a lack of awareness, something Davidow said goes across the board with veterinary medicine.

“We don’t realize that dogs and cats get similar types of diseases, that they have surgery, that they get cancer,” she said. “It just never crosses their mind.”

Here’s hoping videos like this one spread more awareness. Head to PetPlace to find a pet blood bank near you.  

type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related… + articlesList=58acb116e4b0d818c4f0a2fb,5907bc45e4b084f59b49fc00,57278ae3e4b0f309baf17070

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

“When I look at the menu,” Jeff Bezos allegedly said, “you’re the thing I don’t understand, the thing I’ve never had.” He was explaining to Matt Rutledge, founder of Woot, why Amazon had bought his online anti-retailer for $110 million. Bezos justifi…

When I heard someone had made a beat-em-up game based on the Aztec civilization and that I would be getting the chance to play it at this year’s E3, I couldn’t have been more excited. As someone of Mexican descent who’s passionate about his culture,…

An Olympic athlete had a fashion mishap during a competition but handled it like a real champion.

Long jumper Blessing Okagbare was competing in Oslo, Norway, this week when she took a leap into viral fame.

When the Olympic medalist landed, her wig fell off her head, a moment captured by TV cameras.

If Okagbare was embarrassed by the situation, she didn’t show it. Instead of wigging out, she waited for her mark to be measured ― 6.21 meters ― then grabbed the wig and put it back on her head.

Okagbare later posted a clip of the incident on Instagram. “Oh well, it is what it is then … heads up,” she captioned the video, in part.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.

Lawyers on behalf of Black Lives Matter Chicago and other community groups filed a lawsuit against the city Wednesday demanding a push for police reform.

Five months after the Department of Justice released a report detailing systematic racism and a “pervasive cover-up culture” among officers, the 132-page complaint, obtained by the Chicago Tribune, is calling for strict federal oversight of the nation’s second-largest police force. It demands an end to “abusive policies and practices undergirding the alleged constitutional and state law violations.”

“Absent federal court supervision, nothing will improve,” the lawsuit says. “It is clear that federal court intervention is essential to end the historical and on-going pattern and practice of excessive force by police officers in Chicago.”

The complaint accuses individual current officers for excessive force against the plaintiffs.  It also cites examples from the department’s past, including the troubling “shoot to kill” orders during the 1968 Democratic National Convention and the 1969 killing of Black Panther leader Fred Hampton. 

“This is the community stepping up when the government refuses to act and when it has long been clear that the city is incapable of acting on its own,” lead attorney Craig Futterman told The Associated Press. 

The city of Chicago and 15 individual officers are named as defendants in the lawsuit. 

On Wednesday, Black Lives Matter issued a statement about the lawsuit on Facebook, calling out the Chicago Police Department for the way they’ve handled past cases involving black people, including Laquan McDonald, Pierre Loury and Rekia Boyd. 

“Our leadership doesn’t move unless protests fill the street, bodies fill the morgue, and the wealthy are affected. We have to press harder,” the statement reads. “We need the consent decree and a comprehensive federal order to oversee Chicago policing with an independent monitor … not AG Jeff Sessions or Mayor Emanuel.”

Just days before the lawsuit was filed, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel backed away from an agreement he made under the Obama administration to have a federal judge monitor the department’s reform efforts. He requested the DOJ appoint an independent monitor instead. 

When the Chicago Tribune asked Emanuel about the lawsuit, he failed to respond to the question, but said, “I know what we have to do” in regard to police reform, accountability and transparency. 

Despite what the mayor wants, the lawsuit seeks federal enforcement. Futterman told the Tribune that they are open to Emanuel agreeing to work with the plaintiffs on a consent decree monitored by the court.

“He wants a dance partner? He’s got one,” Futterman said. “If he’s serious about ending police civil rights abuses in Chicago, he will agree — as he already did before — to binding court oversight and enforcement.”

A hearing date for this case has been set for Wednesday.

— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.