Galectins (Gal) are glycan-binding proteins. Galectin-8 modulates inflammatory cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and apoptosis. The objective of this study was to determine the transcription and secretion of Gal-8 variants in blood from high (H) and low (L) SCC cows. HSCC is an early indicator of mastitis (SCC > 200,000). Clinically healthy Holstein-Friesian cows from the North Carolina A&T State University Dairy Unit were used for this study (n = 10). Whole blood was collected from the jugular vein of 5 HSCC and 5 LSCC cows based on Dairy Herd Index (DHI) records. Plasma was extracted from blood. Total protein concertation was determined using the bicinchoninic acid assay. Gal-8 secretion was determined using a cow Gal-8 specific ELISA. Polymorphnuclear leukocyte (PMNL) were isolated from blood, and total RNA extracted. RNA was reverse transcribed to cDNA using Oligo(dT) primer. Cow specific primers for Gal-8 (LGALS8_1 and LGALS8_2) were designed, using NCBI Primer-Blast and Primer3, for real-time PCR. GAPDH and β-actin were used as internal controls. The Livak method was used to calculate fold change and transcript abundance. ELISA data were analyzed using PROC ANOVA model in SAS version 9.4. The average total plasma protein concentration for LSCC and HSCC was 5,289 ng/mL, and there was no difference between the 2 groups (P > 0.05). Gal-8 was secreted in plasma. The average concentration of Gal-8 was higher (P = 0.003) in LSCC (2.88 ng/mL) compared with HSCC (1.99 ng/mL) cows. Both variants of LGALS8 were detected in PMNL. LGALS8_1 expression was 3.2 folds higher in LSCC compared with HSCC cows; LGALS8_2 expression was 3.6-fold higher in LSCC compared with HSCC cows. Our results suggest a possible association between SCC levels and Gal-8. Thus, further studies are needed to better understand the role of galectin-8 in dairy cows.