An animal rights group filed a report with Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s office against a well-known canine blood bank in Garden Grove.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, is calling Hemopet a “sham facility,” and claims it is keeping greyhounds in its possession in small kennels for most of the day and drawing blood from them without consent.

Hemopet was founded in 1990 by veterinary Doctor Jean Dodds. She says that Hemopet is like the American Red Cross, but for dogs.

The non-profit takes in greyhounds discarded by the racing industry, trains them for forever homes, and in the process draws their blood every 10 to 14 days. This exchange of care and blood drawing can last up to 18 months before the dogs are put into foster homes or placed with adoptive families.

The dogs' blood is sold to veterinary clinics throughout the United States and Asia to be utilized by other dogs who require blood transfusions.

“We screen the donors for infectious diseases that are transmitted by way of blood and other infectious diseases. So they’re healthy. They’re not sick in any way. They don’t have parasites or bacteria on their skin or in their stool,” said Dr. Dodds.

PETA says it sent an investigator who spent some time as a volunteer at Hemopet to take photos and record what they saw.

“People don’t really think about dogs behind the blood when their companions are sick themselves. This, unfortunately, is a reality for a lot of the dogs,” said Ben Williamson, senior international media director at PETA.

PETA says it will protect the identity of its volunteer and will not release any information about him or her.

“The dogs who PETA found at Hemopet were sick. Some were borderline anemic. Some had lupus and even then their blood was collected,” said Williamson.

Dr. Dodds is standing firm and says PETA’s allegations are false.

“Only the new dogs or the dogs that are in the medical ward that are on some minor therapy for an owie or something are in those large crates that we saw earlier. All the others are in the buildings with runs. The animals go out regularly in the runs three to four times a day,” said Dr. Dodds.

Dr. Dodds says the dogs are well taken care of and they’re actually lifesavers for donating their blood to other dogs who could be facing life or death health situations.

PETA filed a report against Hemopet with the California Attorney General’s office. A response could take weeks, months or even longer.