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Dogs have seven main blood types, which make up the so-called DEA System (Dog Erythrocyte Antigen). They are: DEA 1, divided into subtypes DEA 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, DEA 3, DEA 4, DEA 5 and DEA 7. The DEA system was cataloged only in the 1970s, but the first studies on blood typing began in 1910 and intensified in the second half of the last century. These are the most common types, but new ones keep being discovered, like one called DAL, found in Dalmatians. Dogs of the same breed can have different blood types, just as dogs of different breeds can have the same type. According to veterinarian Luciana de Almeida Lacerda, from the Laboratory of Veterinary Clinical Analysis at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), the frequency of the types varies according to the population and geographic region in which the animals live. The blood of geeks is so complex that, unlike us humans, a single dog can have more than one type, that is, a combination of them. But veterinarians have yet to discover a universal recipient blood type, compatible with any other blood in existence. “Dogs with exclusively DEA 4 blood type are universal donors”, says veterinarian Vanessa Esteves, also from UFRGS.