Friday, July 10, 2015

The Return of My Blood-Draw Mojo

After trying three times during the past several weeks to get blood from a rear leg vein on three different dogs, and worrying that I had lost my blood-drawing mojo, I did a jugular blood draw today on a small white dog. One poke, pulled 2 mls, no hematoma, no bleeding afterwards. Little white dog was sent back into his owners with only the faint whiff of alcohol as evidence that anything happened. 

 Why would I mention the color of the dog? There is a commonly held "truth" in vet care that white dogs will inevitably be bleeders. Poke them and blood goes everywhere. I suspect it is nothing more than memory bias--even a tiny bit of blood can cover an amazingly large area in the right circumstances. It looks gory, really isn't. Plus the additional time spent in cleaning the dog up cements the memory. A smear of blood on a dark haired dog wouldn't even be noticed, thus not remembered.

It is absolutely true that successful blood draws depend heavily on the skills of the person holding the dog. The nurse I worked with tonight is experienced and patient. She didn't rush me as I held off the vein then released the pressure a couple of times to make absolutely sure I was going to poke the right thing. Ninety-pound calves have jugulars the diameters of pencils. Little white dogs have little jugular veins that are maybe 2-3 mm in diameter. The vet hovering over my shoulder said, remember, all the nerves are in the skin and muscles. Don't hesitate when you are ready! Commit! And so I did. I think he was impressed.

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