Anna, Thomas’s Favorite Dog

This oil painting displays the sweet dog Anna, the first to survive both the surgical research experiment to replicate the blue baby congenital cardiac problems as well as the experimental research surgery to repair the blue baby heart. She was retired by Vivien Thomas to become the surgery lab’s companion dog because of her wonderful personality and Thomas’s sentimental attachment to her. This portrait was commissioned by a Baltimore group which supported the humane use of animals in lab research, and it hangs on the wall at Hopkins’ Children’s Center. Over the years, many blue babies have had their picture taken standing next to Anna’s painting.

Thomas spent so many hours operating on dogs that he was recognized as the best canine surgeon of the region. When local veterinarians had an animal that needed to have complex surgery, they would ask Thomas to do the operation. Although not a licensed vet, Thomas would agree to operate whenever he had the time. He appreciated the fees paid him by the vets because his Hopkins salary was so poor.