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Rescue Pup Donates Blood To Save The Sight, And Lives, Of Shelter Kittens

Written by: Regina Lizik

April 10, 2016

Jemmie is a very special dog. Not only is she the light of her human’s, Sacramento SPCA’s foster care coordinator Sarah Varanini, life, she also saves lives herself.

You see, kittens are very susceptible to eye infections, some of which can be life-threatening. Jemmie has something very special in her blood that helps to heal these potentially fatal infections and save the sight and lives of the rescue cats of SSPCA.

sspca kittens

While Jemmie has saved the lives of many cats, her most recent act of heroism involved five week old kittens. The tiny cats had severe ulcers in their eyes, as well as other infections. To heal them, doctors created a serum from Jemmie’s blood. Along with antibiotics, doctors put the serum in the kittens’ eyes as part of their treatment.

jemmie and cat 2

SSPCA Chief of Shelter Medicine, Lauren Siperstein-Cook, told ABC News that there are certain things in a dog’s blood that prevent enzymes in the infected eye from damaging the cornea.

Cat blood works just as well as a dog’s blood for the purposes of creating the serum, but, according to Lauren, dogs are a bit easier to handle when it comes to drawing blood.

High paws to all of the amazing humans of the Sacramento SPCA, and to Jemmie – who will never know how many lives she saves on a regular basis.

Watch the video below to see Jemmie romping around with some of the kittens she’s helped.

h/t ABC News.

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Written by: Regina Lizik

April 10, 2016

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