A two-man team of researchers from Texas has been making the rounds of sled dog kennels in Southcentral Alaska this week, drawing small blood samples from dog after dog. Shane Altizer and Terry Mikulenka have been travelling between kennels and testing the blood of numerous Alaskan and Siberian huskies, looking for the requirements necessary for establishing a canine blood donor program in Alaska. The serious athleticism and almost parasite-free qualities of racing sled dogs in Alaska make them an attractive option for donating to other dogs in need.

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Shane Altizer's family-owned business, J-Tizer LP, has rescued racing greyhounds since 2004, housing them in a protected environment and caring for them until they're adopted into loving homes. While they're being cared for, the greyhounds contribute to a canine blood bank to help other dogs which may have suffered a traumatic injury, will be undergoing surgery, or have blood-destroying diseases.

Dogs have several different blood types, although depending on the breed or the mix, there could up to a dozen. Within the two major blood types there is 1.1 positive, which can only donate to other 1.1 positive dogs, and 1.1 negative, which is considered the universal blood type. Because the greatest percentage of greyhounds are 1.1 negative, they're high on the list of potential donors, and because they are superb athletes, they have a high metabolism and their red blood cell count is higher than many other animals.

However, according to Altizer, there has been a decline in the number of available retired dogs as the greyhound racing industry, like so much of the economy, has fallen on tough times in recent years, with ever-declining purse monies making it harder to support competitive racing kennels. That decline, along with bloodborne diseases spread by ticks in the lower 48 states, is what brought Altizer and Mikulenka to Alaska.

Blood banking for animals is a relatively new concept, but there's a large and growing network of such programs across the Lower 48 states. There are half a dozen commercial blood banks, and several university veterinarian schools, such as Texas A&M, fund their own operations. Some veterinary practices also have small blood programs with lists of local donor dogs.