Ok...it's been a long silent blogging episode. Blame it on the ups and downs of life... on the erratic flow of the "river". Stagnant waters, brooding over thick silt, going nowhere...Murky pool, clouding the mind.Days when you wear a smile on the face to hide the mess in your head!
But hey...Life is all about choices...and I choose to live and let live. Enough of gloomy reflections and on to some animal talk!
Last week, I had my first case of Leptospirosis in a puppy for 2011. Animal was brought in with severe jaundice and fever.I wonder how owners do not pick up jaundice early enough to bring their animals to the vet...maybe because not all of us check the gum and external ear colour daily. So...yes in case of jaundice your animal will have yellow gums, inner side of the ear flap, sclera(white part of the eyeball)and abdomen.
What is Lepto huh? A very contagious bacterium of the Spirochaetes family that can penetrate skin and infect you and your animal.Yes...I did say "YOU" as Leptospirosis is one of the rare diseases that you can easily get from your dog! The natural reservoir for these bacteria are rodents, and in our case, rats! They are shed in the rats' urine and when ingested or upon contact with this urine, your dog (or you) might be infected. The disease develops in a similar fashion for both humans and dogs: Fever, lethargy; liver is the first organ that is affected (and hence the jaundice) and then the lepto progresses to the kidneys where they cause renal failure and this is most often ...FATAL!
If picked early enough this is easily treated with antibiotics but the best thing to do is to vaccinate your dogs regularly against this bug. Proper hand hygiene usually keeps contamination away...even if you are dealing with a sick dog at home. Another useful precaution is to remove/clean your dog's food bowl as soon as he has eaten his meal; Our habit of leaving food bowls with left overs overnight is what attracts the rats and favours contamination. Then again, a proper rat control programme is mandatory if your yard is infested.
Ah!! Those rats! I remember reading James Herbert's chilling novel "Rats" when I was a teenager and despite being a tad apocalyptic, there is a lot of truth in all of the rodent behaviour described there! What about rat poison? Or as we like to call them: "Medcine lerat" - Rat Medicine...as if they have a headache or something that we have to give them "medicine" for! Loool!Nearly all rat poisons are with Coumarin - a powerful anticoagulant that triggers internal bleeding in the animals. This has been carefully designed to make the animal slowly bleed to death, usually over 2-3 days. This has been well studied, because rats are so clever that if one of them dies acutely after eating something, the rest will not eat that again. Some studies even show that there is a set hierarchy in the "rat pack" whereby the dominant ones "send" lower ranking individuals to "taste" the food before they try it themselves! Call it weird, scary or simply rat common sense...but that is how it is. So rat poison is designed to kill slowly, over a couple of days. Why am I detailing all this? Because dogs do eat the rat baits and cats do eat poisoned rats too! If you attend to them early enough this is manageable too, with specific antidotes that will cancel the Coumarin effects.
Ok...now which dog do you feed? To end this blog on the same note as I started it;In my head, my thoughts are like 2 dogs fighting each other constantly! Call it the Ying and Yang; the Good and Bad but me I have 2 dogs!Loool!...and I have learnt, with time, the answer to the question: "So which one eventually wins the fight?"
The answer is: " The one I feed the most eventually wins" Sometimes it pays to stop feeding one of the dogs; balance the "fight" and life goes on. You can read how many books you want; get how much counseling you need but it's ONLY YOU who can decide which dog to feed less and which one to feed more...
So my blogger friends!! Which dog have you overfed lately?
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Om Mani Padme Hum...
These last few days at the clinic have been loaded with emotions; both from my side and from the side of the worried owners coming with their sick pets...
There was a time, some 12 years ago, when we first started with PAWS to do something for Animal Welfare, when I felt that Mauritians do not care for their pets...As the years pass by, I guess we all have witnessed a change in the mentality towards pets and us Vets we are the privileged few to see that first hand. At my clinic, I see more and more people coming with a really caring and compassionate attitude towards their pets. People who cry when their pets are terminal, people who fight and stay awake whole nights to keep a fading puppy alive; people who travel kms to have their pets treated...
Someone phoned and rushed in with a land tortoise yesterday (Malagasy Radiated Tortoise)apparently not eating for a couple of days. When they took the reptile out of the box, my heart skipped a beat...the head and legs were limply dangling out of the carapace.Anyone who has ever owned a tortoise would know that usually these critters keep the head and legs tightly retracted under the carapace when placed in and "unfriendly" environment...and I thought aloud: "Did you bring me a dead tortoise?". Then upon closer manipulation, he blinked when I touched his eyelids! That was one lethargic and blemish reptile!A brief "interrogation" of the owners revealed acute onset of anorexia and weakness 2 days ago.
So, when you are DHAC (Don't Have A Clue) about something and you do not have a scientific explanation for something...it always pays to switch to logical thinking! Reptiles do not control their body temperature and depend on ambient temperature to warm up. Cold body = slow metabolism...so I opted for a warm bath whilst keeping his head above water level and passing a gastric tube down his stomach to sample some contents.
Flushed out some dark coloured vegetable matter and by now Mr Tortoise was becoming more active and helped a bit by vomiting a whole bunch of more green undigested leaves. Owners could not identify that with anything they had given to eat!Another case of poisoning with toxic house plants maybe; but what was interesting to me was the behaviour of the whole family during all this.Panicked and distressed at start: the guy kept saying "save him Dr Sam..." they shifted to sheer joy and relief when he vomited, stroking his shell and encouraging him and they were full of hope when they left with that tortoise in their box. Animal was still in bad shape with a poor prognosis but they were so happy to see him move after the death scare that it did not matter.
Some might say: What so special about a reptile? An animal that does not even socialise with Man...What binds this family to that slow and "non-interactive" animal? But yet they behaved as if it was their kid!
Small black pup...rescued from death by one friend of mine...but in a bad state. Animal was found weak on a poultry farm; 3 of its siblings had been eaten by mastiff guard dogs on that site and mother was shot by deer hunters.Puppy was brought with severe Parvo diarrhoea, abdominal cramps etc. Everyday that guy would come for a 1 hr IV drip session and tell me how he spent the night watching over this poor soul, syringe-feeding him and warming him up; how he had to cancel a business meeting because there was nobody to rehydrate him for 3 hrs. This person already owns a dog, has a full daily busy schedule and yet he chooses to put this little dog first...
Sick kitty brought from the other side of the island; owner driving all the way in the afternoon traffic; Lady picking up and dog from the roadside, with broken limbs and smashed hips and bursting into tears when I had to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering; Another owner gently talking to her cat as she comes round after anaesthesia for surgery; Kids taking turns to read stories to a dog in terminal stage of Distemper...the list is long...and it shows only one thing - There is something inside all of us called "Compassion". We all are born with our dose of it but some choose to repress it and act indifferent, some "prioritise" other feelings at the expense of compassion but some of us do let it out...
Om Mani Padme Hum...The Tibetan Mantra of compassion.For while now, this mantra has been very present in my life...I have a tattoo of it on my right wrist; someone recently gave me a CD with these incantations (Thank you Dr A!!)and I keep reading about it. Not that I am a big religious person or anything but, as someone rightly put it recently: "it's better to be spiritual than religious these days"...So yes,there is nothing more human to be compassionate!
Not the fake caring attitude because you expect to get something in return but true UNCONDITIONAL compassion for a suffering soul
...be it human or animal!
There was a time, some 12 years ago, when we first started with PAWS to do something for Animal Welfare, when I felt that Mauritians do not care for their pets...As the years pass by, I guess we all have witnessed a change in the mentality towards pets and us Vets we are the privileged few to see that first hand. At my clinic, I see more and more people coming with a really caring and compassionate attitude towards their pets. People who cry when their pets are terminal, people who fight and stay awake whole nights to keep a fading puppy alive; people who travel kms to have their pets treated...
Someone phoned and rushed in with a land tortoise yesterday (Malagasy Radiated Tortoise)apparently not eating for a couple of days. When they took the reptile out of the box, my heart skipped a beat...the head and legs were limply dangling out of the carapace.Anyone who has ever owned a tortoise would know that usually these critters keep the head and legs tightly retracted under the carapace when placed in and "unfriendly" environment...and I thought aloud: "Did you bring me a dead tortoise?". Then upon closer manipulation, he blinked when I touched his eyelids! That was one lethargic and blemish reptile!A brief "interrogation" of the owners revealed acute onset of anorexia and weakness 2 days ago.
So, when you are DHAC (Don't Have A Clue) about something and you do not have a scientific explanation for something...it always pays to switch to logical thinking! Reptiles do not control their body temperature and depend on ambient temperature to warm up. Cold body = slow metabolism...so I opted for a warm bath whilst keeping his head above water level and passing a gastric tube down his stomach to sample some contents.
Flushed out some dark coloured vegetable matter and by now Mr Tortoise was becoming more active and helped a bit by vomiting a whole bunch of more green undigested leaves. Owners could not identify that with anything they had given to eat!Another case of poisoning with toxic house plants maybe; but what was interesting to me was the behaviour of the whole family during all this.Panicked and distressed at start: the guy kept saying "save him Dr Sam..." they shifted to sheer joy and relief when he vomited, stroking his shell and encouraging him and they were full of hope when they left with that tortoise in their box. Animal was still in bad shape with a poor prognosis but they were so happy to see him move after the death scare that it did not matter.
Some might say: What so special about a reptile? An animal that does not even socialise with Man...What binds this family to that slow and "non-interactive" animal? But yet they behaved as if it was their kid!
Small black pup...rescued from death by one friend of mine...but in a bad state. Animal was found weak on a poultry farm; 3 of its siblings had been eaten by mastiff guard dogs on that site and mother was shot by deer hunters.Puppy was brought with severe Parvo diarrhoea, abdominal cramps etc. Everyday that guy would come for a 1 hr IV drip session and tell me how he spent the night watching over this poor soul, syringe-feeding him and warming him up; how he had to cancel a business meeting because there was nobody to rehydrate him for 3 hrs. This person already owns a dog, has a full daily busy schedule and yet he chooses to put this little dog first...
Sick kitty brought from the other side of the island; owner driving all the way in the afternoon traffic; Lady picking up and dog from the roadside, with broken limbs and smashed hips and bursting into tears when I had to euthanise the animal to alleviate its suffering; Another owner gently talking to her cat as she comes round after anaesthesia for surgery; Kids taking turns to read stories to a dog in terminal stage of Distemper...the list is long...and it shows only one thing - There is something inside all of us called "Compassion". We all are born with our dose of it but some choose to repress it and act indifferent, some "prioritise" other feelings at the expense of compassion but some of us do let it out...
Om Mani Padme Hum...The Tibetan Mantra of compassion.For while now, this mantra has been very present in my life...I have a tattoo of it on my right wrist; someone recently gave me a CD with these incantations (Thank you Dr A!!)and I keep reading about it. Not that I am a big religious person or anything but, as someone rightly put it recently: "it's better to be spiritual than religious these days"...So yes,there is nothing more human to be compassionate!
Not the fake caring attitude because you expect to get something in return but true UNCONDITIONAL compassion for a suffering soul
...be it human or animal!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Barking at the wrong tree...
Last week, someone from Radio 1 phoned me to have my opinion on the Stray Dog Overpopulation problem in Mauritius. This was to be a broadcast on the alarmist picture the Mauritian SPCA had described in the press lately. Supposedly because the Ministry of Tourism is no longer funding them, we would soon be swamped by an army of rabid stray dogs! I don't know how people still buy that sort of crap...over and over again! It's been how many years now that the "Stray Dog Population Control" has been conferred onto the MSPCA? Some of you reading this weren't even born since this campaign started...1972!Thirty nine years later we are still facing the same problem, hearing the same lame lies and yet year after year tax-payers money is being spent in this and now still more is needed.
During these 3 decades, thousands of animals have been caught and brutally terminated; several Acts have been voted at Parliament; dozens of vehicles and equipment have been bought and yet...stray dogs are still a problem. Mauritius is a tiny island and does not share any terrestrial borders with any country...how on Earth are we still waging a war against stray dogs
Visibly, people somewhere, somehow messed up in their tasks...and in all this we have ourselves to blame...because each time the MSPCA comes up with an excuse the authorities just "abide" and cash out more money and everybody approves by remaining silent and applauding. Well, I am not participating in this!
According to law, any dog found unaccompanied on the streets is a stray; and this encompasses the real homeless strays and your pet doggie. Throughout all these years mostly owned dogs have been picked up...not because they were really strays and a danger to public but more because they were a juicy source of easy money with the fines the owner had to pay etc. The real strays were left on the roads to breed without control.
Catch and Kill...is that all we can expect from a "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals"? Quite paradoxical hey! And yet, that is the sad reality. See http://www.radiomoris.com/forum/discussions-generales/3370-mauritius-society-prevention-cruelty-animals-mspca.html
Catch in a brutal way and kill in an even more atrocious way...that was the sad reality only a decade ago; when some found it totally acceptable electrocute dogs and proudly heap them in mound to make a poster out of it. It took me personally, 3 years of fighting and a lot of pressure from PAWS to make this barbaric act stop. But dogs continue to be caught and killed, now by lethal injection apparently...and God knows who handles this syringe and how it is being done.
All this in the name of what? For a more postcard, tourist-attracting Mauritius? For more money? Just for the sake of being cruel and dumb? Nobody even bothers to ask...all that matters is the IMMEDIATE removal of "eyesores" as I read in the newspapers lately.
How does a dog end up being tagged as "stray"...or why would a dog be unaccompanied on the streets? 1-Owner's yard not fenced, 2-Animal is ill-treated or not fed by owners, 3-Animal is not spayed/neutered by owner, 4-Owner releases the pet dog on the streets in the evening for him to go poop outside, 5-Owner dumped the animal because it was a burden for him. Did you notice the recurrent word in all these reasons? Yes?...and yet the animals are the ones to pay the price with their lives...they are the ones that need to be killed. Owner just goes and gets another puppy and the cycle starts all over again. This is not news anymore...what I am writing now, we have been saying that for years and years now to all the Decision-Makers; we have been stressing on the fact that the real, long-term solution lies in educating and responsibilising owners and spay/neuter campaigns. But hey, who cares about long term? What we need is these mongrels out of sight and we want it NOW!So go ahead with the massacre...but nobody realises that physically removing 10 animals is creating a void to be filled by 10 more...that's a dumb law of population dynamics.
The journalist must have sensed the smirk on my face when I said "ok for the interview" and since he wanted to play the game of the MSPCA...he never called me back! Loool! Dr Sam and his bloody loud mouth!
Plain bland TRUTH...Naaaaaaahhhh! We need crispy, shocking LIES!
Until, the press and the Government realise that they are barking at the wrong tree...we will still be here another 39 years complaining about lack of funds to catch and kill dogs in this country.
Prevention of Cruelty much?
During these 3 decades, thousands of animals have been caught and brutally terminated; several Acts have been voted at Parliament; dozens of vehicles and equipment have been bought and yet...stray dogs are still a problem. Mauritius is a tiny island and does not share any terrestrial borders with any country...how on Earth are we still waging a war against stray dogs
Visibly, people somewhere, somehow messed up in their tasks...and in all this we have ourselves to blame...because each time the MSPCA comes up with an excuse the authorities just "abide" and cash out more money and everybody approves by remaining silent and applauding. Well, I am not participating in this!
According to law, any dog found unaccompanied on the streets is a stray; and this encompasses the real homeless strays and your pet doggie. Throughout all these years mostly owned dogs have been picked up...not because they were really strays and a danger to public but more because they were a juicy source of easy money with the fines the owner had to pay etc. The real strays were left on the roads to breed without control.
Catch and Kill...is that all we can expect from a "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals"? Quite paradoxical hey! And yet, that is the sad reality. See http://www.radiomoris.com/forum/discussions-generales/3370-mauritius-society-prevention-cruelty-animals-mspca.html
Catch in a brutal way and kill in an even more atrocious way...that was the sad reality only a decade ago; when some found it totally acceptable electrocute dogs and proudly heap them in mound to make a poster out of it. It took me personally, 3 years of fighting and a lot of pressure from PAWS to make this barbaric act stop. But dogs continue to be caught and killed, now by lethal injection apparently...and God knows who handles this syringe and how it is being done.
All this in the name of what? For a more postcard, tourist-attracting Mauritius? For more money? Just for the sake of being cruel and dumb? Nobody even bothers to ask...all that matters is the IMMEDIATE removal of "eyesores" as I read in the newspapers lately.
How does a dog end up being tagged as "stray"...or why would a dog be unaccompanied on the streets? 1-Owner's yard not fenced, 2-Animal is ill-treated or not fed by owners, 3-Animal is not spayed/neutered by owner, 4-Owner releases the pet dog on the streets in the evening for him to go poop outside, 5-Owner dumped the animal because it was a burden for him. Did you notice the recurrent word in all these reasons? Yes?...and yet the animals are the ones to pay the price with their lives...they are the ones that need to be killed. Owner just goes and gets another puppy and the cycle starts all over again. This is not news anymore...what I am writing now, we have been saying that for years and years now to all the Decision-Makers; we have been stressing on the fact that the real, long-term solution lies in educating and responsibilising owners and spay/neuter campaigns. But hey, who cares about long term? What we need is these mongrels out of sight and we want it NOW!So go ahead with the massacre...but nobody realises that physically removing 10 animals is creating a void to be filled by 10 more...that's a dumb law of population dynamics.
The journalist must have sensed the smirk on my face when I said "ok for the interview" and since he wanted to play the game of the MSPCA...he never called me back! Loool! Dr Sam and his bloody loud mouth!
Plain bland TRUTH...Naaaaaaahhhh! We need crispy, shocking LIES!
Until, the press and the Government realise that they are barking at the wrong tree...we will still be here another 39 years complaining about lack of funds to catch and kill dogs in this country.
Prevention of Cruelty much?
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
The Joys of Birthing...
Last Saturday has been yet another day to remember for 2011...
Yeps it was the 12th of March and independence day for Mauritius; Yeps it was the birthday party of my daughter Kalinka at the ice cream parlour "Milky Lane" but it was also "marked" by a lady called "Princess".
Soooo...am lying extenuated on the couch at around 19:00 and I get one of those panic phone calls from a lady whose dog was having problems giving birth. She(the dog!!) had been in labour since the morning but nothing "popped" out yet.
15 mins drive to the clinic and the peeps were already there waiting for me with their doggie - severely distressed;visibly weak and in pain. She had given birth 3 times before without any problems but this time she had a big humongous baby stuck in birth canal. Emergency shot of Pain killers; intravenous drip of dextrose 5% and she was on surgery table in no time. I managed to dislodge the stuck baby and because of the weak state she was, I decided to go "get" the remaining babies by a ceasarean section surgery.
Owner came with her daughter and son-in-law and here we are, all 4 of us in the surgery room; me busy with my instruments and the other 3 looking intently at the scalpel in my hand...
Stressful moment it is...for me the surgeon and for the owners watching me taking uterus out and incising to get first baby out. OMG! Questions firing non-stop... "What is this? The intestines? (the uterus)" Why is this greenish?(placenta); Ah! Baby is inside a sac huh?; Is he alive?" Nothing better to put more pressure on you whilst you focus on being swift and quick;while you avoid being "showered" with amniotic fluid as you break open the sac;as you clamp the umbilicus with one hand and cut the cord with the other!!
What is interesting though is that, as soon as baby is out,...owners' attention immediately shift onto the latter. Suddenly, nobody cares about the mom who is lying there with her abdomen wide open and uterus exposed! Loool! Everybody is mesmerised by the cute wet ball of fur taking his first breath on that towel!
Two babies out; and I start to suture back uterus while the ladies are actively rubbing the pups back to life.I could "palpate" the stress as they both were criticising each other's way of "rubbing"! Lool!: "Mum! You are rubbing to hard!"..."Careful You! Your long nails are going to hurt them!"..."Turn them around! you are in my way!" looool! Then...the release operated - Babies started vocalising and whining and, as if, THIS was the real signal that they are ok, everybody was now relaxed. Mr son-in-law, who, until now was anxiously sitting on a chair biting the little nails that were left on his fingers, sprung up and started snapping pics (mostly of wife...lol); participating in towel rub etc.Loool!
By that time, I had finished stitching mum up and cleaning her. The whining was becoming louder and louder, so I expressed some colostrum from the nipples and "offered" them to the pups...Aaaaaaaw! Can you picture a vacuum cleaner nozzle stuck on your skin? Well, there they were...frantically pawing and suckling on these teats like they've done that all their lives!!
There are no words to describe my feelings in such a moment. You forget the time...you forget the strong smell of canine amniotic fluid permeating your sinuses; you forget the pain you have been feeling in your left knee (torn ligament) for standing so long...everything you can perceive is 2 babies falling asleep already on mum's incision line with teats in their mouth!
I looked at owner and I could see emotions flushing her system too; daughter was more into giving them names already and son-in-law had now switched from being a papparazi to pro cameraman now...shooting the scenes from various angles on his Hi-tech phone! Pffff!Hope I do not end up on Youtube or something!
Happy, Happy...Yeps! Babies are always bundles of joy! I guess Princess was happy too, loaded with pain killers for the next 5 days and I have been receiving text "updates" daily about them...all doing fine.
Can't wait for next saturday to see them again for their scheduled check up!
Yeps it was the 12th of March and independence day for Mauritius; Yeps it was the birthday party of my daughter Kalinka at the ice cream parlour "Milky Lane" but it was also "marked" by a lady called "Princess".
Soooo...am lying extenuated on the couch at around 19:00 and I get one of those panic phone calls from a lady whose dog was having problems giving birth. She(the dog!!) had been in labour since the morning but nothing "popped" out yet.
15 mins drive to the clinic and the peeps were already there waiting for me with their doggie - severely distressed;visibly weak and in pain. She had given birth 3 times before without any problems but this time she had a big humongous baby stuck in birth canal. Emergency shot of Pain killers; intravenous drip of dextrose 5% and she was on surgery table in no time. I managed to dislodge the stuck baby and because of the weak state she was, I decided to go "get" the remaining babies by a ceasarean section surgery.
Owner came with her daughter and son-in-law and here we are, all 4 of us in the surgery room; me busy with my instruments and the other 3 looking intently at the scalpel in my hand...
Stressful moment it is...for me the surgeon and for the owners watching me taking uterus out and incising to get first baby out. OMG! Questions firing non-stop... "What is this? The intestines? (the uterus)" Why is this greenish?(placenta); Ah! Baby is inside a sac huh?; Is he alive?" Nothing better to put more pressure on you whilst you focus on being swift and quick;while you avoid being "showered" with amniotic fluid as you break open the sac;as you clamp the umbilicus with one hand and cut the cord with the other!!
What is interesting though is that, as soon as baby is out,...owners' attention immediately shift onto the latter. Suddenly, nobody cares about the mom who is lying there with her abdomen wide open and uterus exposed! Loool! Everybody is mesmerised by the cute wet ball of fur taking his first breath on that towel!
Two babies out; and I start to suture back uterus while the ladies are actively rubbing the pups back to life.I could "palpate" the stress as they both were criticising each other's way of "rubbing"! Lool!: "Mum! You are rubbing to hard!"..."Careful You! Your long nails are going to hurt them!"..."Turn them around! you are in my way!" looool! Then...the release operated - Babies started vocalising and whining and, as if, THIS was the real signal that they are ok, everybody was now relaxed. Mr son-in-law, who, until now was anxiously sitting on a chair biting the little nails that were left on his fingers, sprung up and started snapping pics (mostly of wife...lol); participating in towel rub etc.Loool!
By that time, I had finished stitching mum up and cleaning her. The whining was becoming louder and louder, so I expressed some colostrum from the nipples and "offered" them to the pups...Aaaaaaaw! Can you picture a vacuum cleaner nozzle stuck on your skin? Well, there they were...frantically pawing and suckling on these teats like they've done that all their lives!!
There are no words to describe my feelings in such a moment. You forget the time...you forget the strong smell of canine amniotic fluid permeating your sinuses; you forget the pain you have been feeling in your left knee (torn ligament) for standing so long...everything you can perceive is 2 babies falling asleep already on mum's incision line with teats in their mouth!
I looked at owner and I could see emotions flushing her system too; daughter was more into giving them names already and son-in-law had now switched from being a papparazi to pro cameraman now...shooting the scenes from various angles on his Hi-tech phone! Pffff!Hope I do not end up on Youtube or something!
Happy, Happy...Yeps! Babies are always bundles of joy! I guess Princess was happy too, loaded with pain killers for the next 5 days and I have been receiving text "updates" daily about them...all doing fine.
Can't wait for next saturday to see them again for their scheduled check up!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Ontogenese rekapituliert die Phylogenese...
Feeling Nerdy today? Brace yourself...for some!
"Doc, can you tell me if this is a true German Shepherd?" I got this question today and this crops up like twice a week these days! Everybody wants a "pure" one and so many turn up with backyard crossbreed individuals!
So how do you tell a true GSD from a "fake" one? The real ones are all black at birth and only afterwards get their tan patches; just like true Dalmations are born uniformly white and start getting their much appreciated spots a week or so after. Lion cubs are born with spots; our Mauritian monkeys have babies born with jet black fur that slowly changes to grey after a few weeks; the african Colobus monkey is predominantly black but carries baby which is as white as milk!
So what's this whole buzz about having babies that are so strikingly differently coated from the adults? One would have thought that evolution would have provided those babies with some sort of colour that would blend them in the lot as protection from predators...but for the Colobus monkey, it's like placing crosshairs on the baby or painting it in fluo for the attention of any predator!!
Enter Ernst Haeckel, German biologist who, in 1866 came with his theory about "Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny" (In german in the title). This theory was later taken to the extremes and discredited by most biologists. Yeps, that the way to do it: Take something someone said, try to apply it to far fetched situations and prove it wrong! Loool!Anyways...despite failing the test when confronted to conventional Darwinism, I always like to pull the argument that it does explain some stuff that are not explicable by the theory of evolution. Well, what does it say, that is so controversial, then?
Ontogeny - The development of an individual through it's various stages
Phylogeny - The development of a species.
Ernst Haeckel stated that through the stages of its development, and individual repeats the stages of the development of its species. Thus, in embryonic stage, the human embryo resembles an embryo of other animals, has gills like fish, later the foetus develops a tail like other primates and is covered with fur like all mammals. All this resorbs to give a baby the way we know of at birth.
Taken to the word, Ernst Haeckel was covered with shame because in the development of a chicken for example it does not resemble the adult form of fish-amphibian-reptile-archopterix then ends up like a fluffy yellow chick but it does have the genes for that. But the theory has some truth in explaining ancestry. Our ancestors had tails and we possess the genes to grow a tail and our babies start grow one which is later stopped and resorbed; just like birds have been proven to possess the genes to grow teeth - like their reptilian ancestors. Lol! Yeah! Chicken can grow teeth and that has been proven in the labs.
Ok ...back to our baby animals here! Yes...at some point of time in evolution, the ancestors of the German Shepherd Dogs were...all Black; the ones of Dalmations ...all white and adult lions wore classy spots like a leopard! The babies are just displaying vestigial coat colour of ancestors. This colour must have served a purpose in the past but no longer now with intensive human-influenced in animal breeding.
There you go! Taken from this angle the theory of Haeckel stands the test and makes complete sense too...
So, now, next time someone asks you how to tell a true GSD from a "sugar-cane GSD" you will know what to answer and have a nerdy explanation too!In any case, you should tell him that a dog is a dog...ready to throw so much love back at you...whether pure breed or mongrel!
What?! You did not grasp the whole point about Ontogeny etc? Go watch a Reality-TV show on your couch then! Looool!
Or you can always scroll up and read again!
"Doc, can you tell me if this is a true German Shepherd?" I got this question today and this crops up like twice a week these days! Everybody wants a "pure" one and so many turn up with backyard crossbreed individuals!
So how do you tell a true GSD from a "fake" one? The real ones are all black at birth and only afterwards get their tan patches; just like true Dalmations are born uniformly white and start getting their much appreciated spots a week or so after. Lion cubs are born with spots; our Mauritian monkeys have babies born with jet black fur that slowly changes to grey after a few weeks; the african Colobus monkey is predominantly black but carries baby which is as white as milk!
So what's this whole buzz about having babies that are so strikingly differently coated from the adults? One would have thought that evolution would have provided those babies with some sort of colour that would blend them in the lot as protection from predators...but for the Colobus monkey, it's like placing crosshairs on the baby or painting it in fluo for the attention of any predator!!
Enter Ernst Haeckel, German biologist who, in 1866 came with his theory about "Ontogeny Recapitulates Phylogeny" (In german in the title). This theory was later taken to the extremes and discredited by most biologists. Yeps, that the way to do it: Take something someone said, try to apply it to far fetched situations and prove it wrong! Loool!Anyways...despite failing the test when confronted to conventional Darwinism, I always like to pull the argument that it does explain some stuff that are not explicable by the theory of evolution. Well, what does it say, that is so controversial, then?
Ontogeny - The development of an individual through it's various stages
Phylogeny - The development of a species.
Ernst Haeckel stated that through the stages of its development, and individual repeats the stages of the development of its species. Thus, in embryonic stage, the human embryo resembles an embryo of other animals, has gills like fish, later the foetus develops a tail like other primates and is covered with fur like all mammals. All this resorbs to give a baby the way we know of at birth.
Taken to the word, Ernst Haeckel was covered with shame because in the development of a chicken for example it does not resemble the adult form of fish-amphibian-reptile-archopterix then ends up like a fluffy yellow chick but it does have the genes for that. But the theory has some truth in explaining ancestry. Our ancestors had tails and we possess the genes to grow a tail and our babies start grow one which is later stopped and resorbed; just like birds have been proven to possess the genes to grow teeth - like their reptilian ancestors. Lol! Yeah! Chicken can grow teeth and that has been proven in the labs.
Ok ...back to our baby animals here! Yes...at some point of time in evolution, the ancestors of the German Shepherd Dogs were...all Black; the ones of Dalmations ...all white and adult lions wore classy spots like a leopard! The babies are just displaying vestigial coat colour of ancestors. This colour must have served a purpose in the past but no longer now with intensive human-influenced in animal breeding.
There you go! Taken from this angle the theory of Haeckel stands the test and makes complete sense too...
So, now, next time someone asks you how to tell a true GSD from a "sugar-cane GSD" you will know what to answer and have a nerdy explanation too!In any case, you should tell him that a dog is a dog...ready to throw so much love back at you...whether pure breed or mongrel!
What?! You did not grasp the whole point about Ontogeny etc? Go watch a Reality-TV show on your couch then! Looool!
Or you can always scroll up and read again!
Friday, March 4, 2011
Two types of everything...
Grey hair falling over her lovely (hazel)eyes...curvaceous figure..she watched me come close and made a step backwards as I reached out a hand to stroke her back.
This is Kenza, 13 yrs old female "Griffon" upon her first visit in January (and not, as you thought, some hot chick playing shy with Dr Sam!)Owner brought her for a "fourth" opinion after being told that she had cancer and was terminal. Kenza had been spayed 6 years ago and the next year she was having vaginal bleeding again and since then has been with vaginal discharges of various colour and "consistency". Owner has been around, been prescribed numerous antibiotics, antihaemorraghics, hormonal suppressors and last vet told him that there was no hope..that she had to be euthanised.
First thing I noted was that she was smelling bad...and that she was having brown vaginal discharges.So straight to some "between-legs" inspection and gosh that was gross! Full blown abscess on upper aspect of vulva...packed with...wriggling maggots! 1 hr of anaesthesia and fun maggot-fishing later she went home with a medicated gauze drain. It took several wet to dry debriding sessions to get that wound clean and healed. Was happy to hear that she was doing ok and eating etc...until last week Mr Ramos called for an appointment - Kenza was again bleeding per vagina!
Okay...clouds of doubt in my head now...Have I missed something? Did my sutures block her urinary meatus and now she is having a bladder infection? Could it be that she is having an "ascending" infection that moved from vagina to bladder?Bladder Stones? I saw her last week with my head full of biased "convictions"...and guess what? I did palpate a 5 x 5 mass in her abdomen..roughly where bladder lies! See....Dr Sam knew it! It is a bladder infection!!Some Citrosoda,Fluoroquinolones and antiinflammatories would do the trick. Except that Kenza came back on Wednesday in worse situation and with more discharges...as evidenced by the matted fur in her genital area! Pfffff!
"Ok! Mr Ramos! I am going in!" I heard myself say! Poor owner...he was distressed when he came but the thought of having her old 13yr old friend go through anaeasthesia and a major surgery was not appealing at all.
I made him understand that the point of going inside is to actually see what was going on and if I could fix it. If, on the other hand I cannot do anything, we would at least know and take a decision on whether to prolong her sufferings or put an end to all this.
It was with a slightly shaking hand that I drove the anaeasthesia needle into her vein and later opened her abdomen...You know that feeling when you are hypnotised by something evil? Torn between fear and curiosity? Well...that entangled mass staring at me from under her bladder made me feel like that! Under the bladder of a female there can only be one thing...the uterus...but Kenza was spayed and a uterus could not look that big and round!At this point of time, Mr Ramos, who must have seen the sweat dribbling down my forehead, was pacing around, all nervous and panicked.
"Ooookayyy! Mr Ramos, we are in control here...we got it...we know what it is" I said to calm him down...but geeeeez this mass was hard to have a hold on in all this mess! I tried to detach but in vain!I kept talking to the owner whilst I tried to locate the cervical part of what I had now identified as a uterine stump. Finally made it after some 30 minutes; ligated and excised the mass. You know us vets!!! I had to cut it open! loool! And yes it was full of bloody purulent foul smelling material! The stench!!! All that I needed in a closed poorly ventilated surgery area! Hahaha!
So Dr X, did not remove all the uterus 6 years ago and left enough inside to be a "party zone" for bacteria! She's been with a practically chronic metritis that could have killed her!
Whilst talking to Mr Ramos throughout all this episode, I confirmed a few things to myself; There are 2 types of vets:
The ones who are very comfortably ensconsed on their pedestal; who enjoy crushing you into submission and don't you dare come challenge their diagnosis, as they are always right. These are the ones who prescribe pills and give shots ad infinitum...in the secret hope that one of them will work.
And there are the ones who think about the case with you and empowers you to be a good "nurse" at home; taking time to explain because he knows that the rest of the 23 hrs 30 mins of the day the animal is going to be in your care. They are the ones to take straightforward decisions with the owner and be frank and sincere about the feasibility of things.
Kenza has seen them all...and I was so glad to receive a text from Mr Ramos today asking me if she can be on solid food already...because she is making a big fuss with her bowl...asking for food!!
Kenza the Warrior!
Priceless...
This is Kenza, 13 yrs old female "Griffon" upon her first visit in January (and not, as you thought, some hot chick playing shy with Dr Sam!)Owner brought her for a "fourth" opinion after being told that she had cancer and was terminal. Kenza had been spayed 6 years ago and the next year she was having vaginal bleeding again and since then has been with vaginal discharges of various colour and "consistency". Owner has been around, been prescribed numerous antibiotics, antihaemorraghics, hormonal suppressors and last vet told him that there was no hope..that she had to be euthanised.
First thing I noted was that she was smelling bad...and that she was having brown vaginal discharges.So straight to some "between-legs" inspection and gosh that was gross! Full blown abscess on upper aspect of vulva...packed with...wriggling maggots! 1 hr of anaesthesia and fun maggot-fishing later she went home with a medicated gauze drain. It took several wet to dry debriding sessions to get that wound clean and healed. Was happy to hear that she was doing ok and eating etc...until last week Mr Ramos called for an appointment - Kenza was again bleeding per vagina!
Okay...clouds of doubt in my head now...Have I missed something? Did my sutures block her urinary meatus and now she is having a bladder infection? Could it be that she is having an "ascending" infection that moved from vagina to bladder?Bladder Stones? I saw her last week with my head full of biased "convictions"...and guess what? I did palpate a 5 x 5 mass in her abdomen..roughly where bladder lies! See....Dr Sam knew it! It is a bladder infection!!Some Citrosoda,Fluoroquinolones and antiinflammatories would do the trick. Except that Kenza came back on Wednesday in worse situation and with more discharges...as evidenced by the matted fur in her genital area! Pfffff!
"Ok! Mr Ramos! I am going in!" I heard myself say! Poor owner...he was distressed when he came but the thought of having her old 13yr old friend go through anaeasthesia and a major surgery was not appealing at all.
I made him understand that the point of going inside is to actually see what was going on and if I could fix it. If, on the other hand I cannot do anything, we would at least know and take a decision on whether to prolong her sufferings or put an end to all this.
It was with a slightly shaking hand that I drove the anaeasthesia needle into her vein and later opened her abdomen...You know that feeling when you are hypnotised by something evil? Torn between fear and curiosity? Well...that entangled mass staring at me from under her bladder made me feel like that! Under the bladder of a female there can only be one thing...the uterus...but Kenza was spayed and a uterus could not look that big and round!At this point of time, Mr Ramos, who must have seen the sweat dribbling down my forehead, was pacing around, all nervous and panicked.
"Ooookayyy! Mr Ramos, we are in control here...we got it...we know what it is" I said to calm him down...but geeeeez this mass was hard to have a hold on in all this mess! I tried to detach but in vain!I kept talking to the owner whilst I tried to locate the cervical part of what I had now identified as a uterine stump. Finally made it after some 30 minutes; ligated and excised the mass. You know us vets!!! I had to cut it open! loool! And yes it was full of bloody purulent foul smelling material! The stench!!! All that I needed in a closed poorly ventilated surgery area! Hahaha!
So Dr X, did not remove all the uterus 6 years ago and left enough inside to be a "party zone" for bacteria! She's been with a practically chronic metritis that could have killed her!
Whilst talking to Mr Ramos throughout all this episode, I confirmed a few things to myself; There are 2 types of vets:
The ones who are very comfortably ensconsed on their pedestal; who enjoy crushing you into submission and don't you dare come challenge their diagnosis, as they are always right. These are the ones who prescribe pills and give shots ad infinitum...in the secret hope that one of them will work.
And there are the ones who think about the case with you and empowers you to be a good "nurse" at home; taking time to explain because he knows that the rest of the 23 hrs 30 mins of the day the animal is going to be in your care. They are the ones to take straightforward decisions with the owner and be frank and sincere about the feasibility of things.
Kenza has seen them all...and I was so glad to receive a text from Mr Ramos today asking me if she can be on solid food already...because she is making a big fuss with her bowl...asking for food!!
Kenza the Warrior!
Priceless...
Saturday, February 26, 2011
That thin blurry line...
Ok...are we ready for a little reflection time here?
Well...have you ever wondered what makes us human and what is our relationship to animals? Some may say the usual, age old, answer that we have the ability to reason and think rationally, plan ahead and communicate with language etc...but that is all reproducible in the animal world in some sort and so many so-called "humans" do the exact opposite of the above mentioned.
The notion of "humanity" was created to dissociate man from "the rest"...i.e. animals. So, from a philosophical point of view...we exist as human only because there are other living creatures out there that we call animals. That we dissociate ourselves from animals has, in itself, nothing wrong but when we use that to assert our superiority and dominance over animals then the perversion is complete.How many times have we heard the expression: "its just an animal...i can do whatever i want with it..."
Ok...how about now turning this whole discussion around and analysing from another angle...From an evolutionary point of view, we would be NOTHING without animals. Since the beginning of civilisation, humans have used animals to survive as a species. Animals for food, animals for protection against the cold, animals to plough their land; animals for hunting, for companionship, animals to move quicker and conquer new territories and animals as role models (Gods) How many years was that ago? Thousand of years? Come to think of it...we still do all these until now!Meat, milk and eggs are still in our diet; leather is still worn,dogs still used for hunting, cormorants used for fishing,types of animals kept as pets is ever increasing, Horses are still used to move around and animals are still in the pantheon of deities in so many cultures. In addition to all that people have found new "uses" for the ones we call "non human"...in medecine...in sports...in fashion etc. Now can you imagine ourselves without animals? I guess we would have failed in an epic way as a species without them. We have always used and still are using animals and have you ever wondered why the veterinary profession was invented? I guess that at some point of time, someone thought that if we were going to "USE" animals we better be responsible and cater for their needs and welfare... Yes...vets only look after animals that humans use, or that have some value for the humans. Have you ever heard about a vet who looks after cockroaches of some mollusc in the ocean? No huh!? So many of us do not feel responsible about this (including many vets) and so many people go to the other extreme and fight for rights for animals going to the extent of activism and terrorism...
So what makes us human heh? Is that the fact that we have feelings? The dalmation doggy that is on IV perfusion for 3 days in a row proves me that this is not the case. Doggy stopped eating since her mom died on monday and spends her time lying down in rain and sun over the mound where the mother is buried...How "animal" and "feelingless"is that? So many times...in our extreme moments we are no more human than our animals...when we let our instincts and our inner self come out...So.. yeah...there is a line that demarcates us from animals...but that line is very thin and blurry!!
We owe a lot to animals, we are who we are and where we are thanks to them...and they deserve respect even if they are going to end up on your plate or help a blind man walk around and cross the street.
I feel I am so lucky and privileged to be a vet!
...and I guess everything happens for a reason too...
Well...have you ever wondered what makes us human and what is our relationship to animals? Some may say the usual, age old, answer that we have the ability to reason and think rationally, plan ahead and communicate with language etc...but that is all reproducible in the animal world in some sort and so many so-called "humans" do the exact opposite of the above mentioned.
The notion of "humanity" was created to dissociate man from "the rest"...i.e. animals. So, from a philosophical point of view...we exist as human only because there are other living creatures out there that we call animals. That we dissociate ourselves from animals has, in itself, nothing wrong but when we use that to assert our superiority and dominance over animals then the perversion is complete.How many times have we heard the expression: "its just an animal...i can do whatever i want with it..."
Ok...how about now turning this whole discussion around and analysing from another angle...From an evolutionary point of view, we would be NOTHING without animals. Since the beginning of civilisation, humans have used animals to survive as a species. Animals for food, animals for protection against the cold, animals to plough their land; animals for hunting, for companionship, animals to move quicker and conquer new territories and animals as role models (Gods) How many years was that ago? Thousand of years? Come to think of it...we still do all these until now!Meat, milk and eggs are still in our diet; leather is still worn,dogs still used for hunting, cormorants used for fishing,types of animals kept as pets is ever increasing, Horses are still used to move around and animals are still in the pantheon of deities in so many cultures. In addition to all that people have found new "uses" for the ones we call "non human"...in medecine...in sports...in fashion etc. Now can you imagine ourselves without animals? I guess we would have failed in an epic way as a species without them. We have always used and still are using animals and have you ever wondered why the veterinary profession was invented? I guess that at some point of time, someone thought that if we were going to "USE" animals we better be responsible and cater for their needs and welfare... Yes...vets only look after animals that humans use, or that have some value for the humans. Have you ever heard about a vet who looks after cockroaches of some mollusc in the ocean? No huh!? So many of us do not feel responsible about this (including many vets) and so many people go to the other extreme and fight for rights for animals going to the extent of activism and terrorism...
So what makes us human heh? Is that the fact that we have feelings? The dalmation doggy that is on IV perfusion for 3 days in a row proves me that this is not the case. Doggy stopped eating since her mom died on monday and spends her time lying down in rain and sun over the mound where the mother is buried...How "animal" and "feelingless"is that? So many times...in our extreme moments we are no more human than our animals...when we let our instincts and our inner self come out...So.. yeah...there is a line that demarcates us from animals...but that line is very thin and blurry!!
We owe a lot to animals, we are who we are and where we are thanks to them...and they deserve respect even if they are going to end up on your plate or help a blind man walk around and cross the street.
I feel I am so lucky and privileged to be a vet!
...and I guess everything happens for a reason too...
Sunday, February 6, 2011
"Tu deviens responsable pour toujours de ce que tu as apprivoisé" Antoine de St Exupery (Le Petit Prince)
The year 2011 has been officially named World Veterinary Year; with pompous launching ceremony in Lyon, France on the 24th January...This year marks the 250th anniversary of the first ever Veterinary School.
250 years, hundreds of veterinary schools around the world, constant progress in Veterinary Care and yet so many of us vets have missed one crucial thing..the purpose of being a vet. Today's blog is not to be confused with criticism but just a reflection on who we are supposed to be as vets.
A couple of weeks ago, one co-worker asked me to help her daughter with a an essay on veterinarians and the next day, she came back telling me that she never thought that veterinarians are the guardians of human health too!! Yes...every animal that provides humans with food(meat, egg, milk) and other by-products has been kept in good health and monitored by a vet; at the Meat Authority, it is the Vet who gives the final clearance for animal products to be placed on the market;same thing at the Seafood Hub; all the lab animals that give their lives to save and prolong hundreds of human lives are looked after by vets.
Yes...a vet is not only that guy at the end of the street, who vaccinates your dog; he is supposed to be much more than that. A vet is the guardian of Animal Welfare in the first place."Why should you care?" Some may say...The fact is, human beings have USED animals since the beginning of civilisation; we are still using and will be using animals. If we are where we are as a "successful"species today, it is largely because our ancestors did USE animals. To quote A.de St Exupery "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed" and if we are going to use an animal for whatever purpose, it is our basic responsibility to cater for their welfare, to alleviate their suffering and minimise their distress. But how many of us believe in that purpose?; How many will just be vets to make money?...as I like to say...to thrive on the misfortunes and ailments of animals.
These last few months, I have been the witness of so many cases where the vet could not care less about his patient's distress; cases of supposedly loving owners leaving a dog's foot to rot because he did not have time to bring him to a vet; cases where well-intentioned owners accepted that their pets were being bullied and punished in some fancy "training sessions"...Big effing hypocrisy!
People frown upon the use of animals in labs but run to the pharmacy to buy animal tested drugs at the first headache or runny nose; the same people have nothing to say and approve animals being whipped to run for human pleasure (Yes...Surprise!..That's what horse racing is all about!)
Vet places a bandage improperly on dog's leg - impaired circulation; leg gets gangrenous and is amputated.Who cares? Another one prescribes Paracetamol to a kitten, when it is basic knowledge that this is TOXIC to cats (they lack the enzyme to metabolise that drug. What excuse does he have for this? Simply didn't give a damn!. But hey...responsibility to cater for animal welfare is meant for the owners too. How can Mr X bring a dog half eaten with maggots last thursday? What could have been more important during a whole week than his pet's suffering? How can so many people accept animal punishment; Prong collars(collars with metallic spikes on the inside), Choke chains and even Electric prods being used by so-called "Dog Trainers" on their pets?!? Isn't that the same dog you cherish?
The answer is "irresponsibility"...both from vets and owners and negative-reinforcement promoters on the island. My request to you all,owners, vets and wanna-be vets, remember what is your role and responsibility for the animal you are/will be looking after. After I had questioned the use of a prong collar on her Rott, my friend Dee said she felt sorry that she allowed that and told me "Shadow has forgiven me..am sure". Yep! It's like that with dogs, true "unconditional love"...they will still look up to you as the pack leader and respect you no matter what.In return, the least you can do is to be the person your dog thinks you are and if you are a vet, be up to it and do your best for the animal...no matter what or who.
Money etc are all secondary in that setup.
Am sorry if this was an angry and blunt one today but I feel that I need to air this out...to all the peeps reading me...with the secret hope that it may help at least one animal.
250 years, hundreds of veterinary schools around the world, constant progress in Veterinary Care and yet so many of us vets have missed one crucial thing..the purpose of being a vet. Today's blog is not to be confused with criticism but just a reflection on who we are supposed to be as vets.
A couple of weeks ago, one co-worker asked me to help her daughter with a an essay on veterinarians and the next day, she came back telling me that she never thought that veterinarians are the guardians of human health too!! Yes...every animal that provides humans with food(meat, egg, milk) and other by-products has been kept in good health and monitored by a vet; at the Meat Authority, it is the Vet who gives the final clearance for animal products to be placed on the market;same thing at the Seafood Hub; all the lab animals that give their lives to save and prolong hundreds of human lives are looked after by vets.
Yes...a vet is not only that guy at the end of the street, who vaccinates your dog; he is supposed to be much more than that. A vet is the guardian of Animal Welfare in the first place."Why should you care?" Some may say...The fact is, human beings have USED animals since the beginning of civilisation; we are still using and will be using animals. If we are where we are as a "successful"species today, it is largely because our ancestors did USE animals. To quote A.de St Exupery "You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed" and if we are going to use an animal for whatever purpose, it is our basic responsibility to cater for their welfare, to alleviate their suffering and minimise their distress. But how many of us believe in that purpose?; How many will just be vets to make money?...as I like to say...to thrive on the misfortunes and ailments of animals.
These last few months, I have been the witness of so many cases where the vet could not care less about his patient's distress; cases of supposedly loving owners leaving a dog's foot to rot because he did not have time to bring him to a vet; cases where well-intentioned owners accepted that their pets were being bullied and punished in some fancy "training sessions"...Big effing hypocrisy!
People frown upon the use of animals in labs but run to the pharmacy to buy animal tested drugs at the first headache or runny nose; the same people have nothing to say and approve animals being whipped to run for human pleasure (Yes...Surprise!..That's what horse racing is all about!)
Vet places a bandage improperly on dog's leg - impaired circulation; leg gets gangrenous and is amputated.Who cares? Another one prescribes Paracetamol to a kitten, when it is basic knowledge that this is TOXIC to cats (they lack the enzyme to metabolise that drug. What excuse does he have for this? Simply didn't give a damn!. But hey...responsibility to cater for animal welfare is meant for the owners too. How can Mr X bring a dog half eaten with maggots last thursday? What could have been more important during a whole week than his pet's suffering? How can so many people accept animal punishment; Prong collars(collars with metallic spikes on the inside), Choke chains and even Electric prods being used by so-called "Dog Trainers" on their pets?!? Isn't that the same dog you cherish?
The answer is "irresponsibility"...both from vets and owners and negative-reinforcement promoters on the island. My request to you all,owners, vets and wanna-be vets, remember what is your role and responsibility for the animal you are/will be looking after. After I had questioned the use of a prong collar on her Rott, my friend Dee said she felt sorry that she allowed that and told me "Shadow has forgiven me..am sure". Yep! It's like that with dogs, true "unconditional love"...they will still look up to you as the pack leader and respect you no matter what.In return, the least you can do is to be the person your dog thinks you are and if you are a vet, be up to it and do your best for the animal...no matter what or who.
Money etc are all secondary in that setup.
Am sorry if this was an angry and blunt one today but I feel that I need to air this out...to all the peeps reading me...with the secret hope that it may help at least one animal.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Tick and Treat...
Well...Who said that "time flies when you having fun"?? Time sure flies when you are running around fire-fighting on 5 -6 fronts at a time too!!
January has been one of these months...when I wish there were 3 more hours to my 24 hr day!Ok, we're back on track now and a lot "I-wish-I-could-blog" stuff have happened but the one thing I want to share is that this year we may be facing a new disease in our dogs and cats in Mauritius; one imported from the African continent (most probably South Africa)
Since, November of last year, I have been brought several cases of dogs with pronounced lethargy, swollen peripheral lymph nodes, fever, neurological symptoms and very low Red Blood Cell counts.All these are textbook symptoms of a disease called Babesiosis; whereby a unicellular parasites invades their host's red blood cells and reproduce there. Babesia is a tick-borne disease and is transmitted through tick bites from dog to dog. Bad news - Some Babesia infect humans too.
My attempts to treat symptomatically failed and as of now,the results are as follows:
I had to euthanise one of the animals;
One is still in a chronic lethargic state;
1 puppy died and 2 others out of the red zone and safe.
Since this disease is not "recognised" in Mauritius we, of course, do not ave the specific drug that treats it. Looking up for several hours on the internet, I learnt that some drugs used to treat human Trypanosomiasis work.So here I am phoning my human doctor friends for info...after several phone calls I end up in the Sanitary Division of the Ministry of Health where I learnt that I cannot get the drug.Aaaaargh!Back to internet again then...and this time I decided to review scientific papers on that disease.Bingo!(or at least I think so). Research done in 2000 tend to show that one antibiotic commonly used for respiratory infections (Azythromicin) works. At that time, I just lost one out of 3 Rott pups, so I decided to try this on the 2 that were left. After 3 days, they were much better and their submandibular lymph nodes were back to normal and fever was gone! Pfiuuuuh!So I start to ask questions about ticks...Mum is full of ticks; the one who is in a chronic state had a bad beat recently with ticks and the one I had to euthanise (old and agonising with anaemia)was of course....full of ticks!
Amidst all this, I of course, contacted the Division of Veterinary Services for an official report of my "suspicions" and faced with the lack of motivation, I decided to take the matter further MYSELF. I took blood before euthanasia; took one sample from the Dam of the Rott pups and a third one from the chronic lethargic doggy and sent all this to South Africa for analysis.
Now, waiting for the results to come in, I can only put a word out to all my colleagues about this situation and hope it might save a few doggy lives. Whilst talking to one colleague in particular, I got the following statement; "Wow! That's interesting Sam. Let's keep this for ourselves...this will give us an edge over other vets!" What a mentality!As if we are vets to compete with each other!He got a blunt "F**k you dude!" and "Go re-think why you became a vet!". I may have spoilt my relationship with that colleague but...hey I don't care!
Well, Mauritian vets out there...until we get Imidocarb (drug of choice for canine Babz)please have your Azythromicin handy.
With this intense hot and now humid weather, the next few months are going to be just "Tick and Treat!" for us vets...kinda our version of Halloween!
January has been one of these months...when I wish there were 3 more hours to my 24 hr day!Ok, we're back on track now and a lot "I-wish-I-could-blog" stuff have happened but the one thing I want to share is that this year we may be facing a new disease in our dogs and cats in Mauritius; one imported from the African continent (most probably South Africa)
Since, November of last year, I have been brought several cases of dogs with pronounced lethargy, swollen peripheral lymph nodes, fever, neurological symptoms and very low Red Blood Cell counts.All these are textbook symptoms of a disease called Babesiosis; whereby a unicellular parasites invades their host's red blood cells and reproduce there. Babesia is a tick-borne disease and is transmitted through tick bites from dog to dog. Bad news - Some Babesia infect humans too.
My attempts to treat symptomatically failed and as of now,the results are as follows:
I had to euthanise one of the animals;
One is still in a chronic lethargic state;
1 puppy died and 2 others out of the red zone and safe.
Since this disease is not "recognised" in Mauritius we, of course, do not ave the specific drug that treats it. Looking up for several hours on the internet, I learnt that some drugs used to treat human Trypanosomiasis work.So here I am phoning my human doctor friends for info...after several phone calls I end up in the Sanitary Division of the Ministry of Health where I learnt that I cannot get the drug.Aaaaargh!Back to internet again then...and this time I decided to review scientific papers on that disease.Bingo!(or at least I think so). Research done in 2000 tend to show that one antibiotic commonly used for respiratory infections (Azythromicin) works. At that time, I just lost one out of 3 Rott pups, so I decided to try this on the 2 that were left. After 3 days, they were much better and their submandibular lymph nodes were back to normal and fever was gone! Pfiuuuuh!So I start to ask questions about ticks...Mum is full of ticks; the one who is in a chronic state had a bad beat recently with ticks and the one I had to euthanise (old and agonising with anaemia)was of course....full of ticks!
Amidst all this, I of course, contacted the Division of Veterinary Services for an official report of my "suspicions" and faced with the lack of motivation, I decided to take the matter further MYSELF. I took blood before euthanasia; took one sample from the Dam of the Rott pups and a third one from the chronic lethargic doggy and sent all this to South Africa for analysis.
Now, waiting for the results to come in, I can only put a word out to all my colleagues about this situation and hope it might save a few doggy lives. Whilst talking to one colleague in particular, I got the following statement; "Wow! That's interesting Sam. Let's keep this for ourselves...this will give us an edge over other vets!" What a mentality!As if we are vets to compete with each other!He got a blunt "F**k you dude!" and "Go re-think why you became a vet!". I may have spoilt my relationship with that colleague but...hey I don't care!
Well, Mauritian vets out there...until we get Imidocarb (drug of choice for canine Babz)please have your Azythromicin handy.
With this intense hot and now humid weather, the next few months are going to be just "Tick and Treat!" for us vets...kinda our version of Halloween!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
PNYTS - Post New Year Trauma Syndrome...
Back to clinical stuff again...
This year starts off with a series of bad trauma that dogs sustained trying to flee firecrackers.
One trapped her leg in the metallic door she was trying to jump over, stayed hung like that for like 3 hours and fractured a leg bone before owner came to rescue. Dog came to me with a badly done bandage compressing the leg with massive pitting oedema due to loss of blood circulation. Tried to save the leg from "Compartment Syndrome" but necrosis starting at the tip of this leg; with loss of nails and pads - She is scheduled for amputation tomorrow.The limbs are made up of several"compartments"; distinct from each other and if there is an increase on internal pressure due to any kind of swelling, the pressure reverts back on the underlying blood vessels and flattens blood vessels - causing the lower parts to die. Compartment sydrome is insidious and may caost the life of your dog. Sad, Sad case...Bandage was put by someone who wanted to immobilise a fractured tarsal bone but caused much more damage than the fracture itself! Hera is a beautiful Malinois; so full of energy and life...
But I have faith in dogs' adaptation faculties...She will be alright and find a way to be happy...even with a missing lower leg.
Second dog fell from the rooftop and snapped his left femur ! Who the hell keeps dogs on rooftops?? Well...many Mauritians do...and think it's ok. So I wore my "angry eyes" and had a serious talk with the owners. The animal finds itself in blazing sunlight all day long and no matter what little shade it gets; a hot concrete rooftop is not your first choice to lie down on when you are feeling hot! Then there is wind...rain and the fact that dogs have scarce depth appreciation and in moments of extreme excitement or panic...they will cross overthe rim and fall.This one fell from a 2 storeyed house...I spent like 2 hours in surgery fixing that broken bone and judging by the amount of muscle damage the broken bones caused, he will have some permanent locomotory deficit.
The last one came today (or is it yesterday already?). The owners found their big fat doggy impaled on the projecting metallic "spikes" we like to put on our gates here. Massive deep skin laceration with exposure of mammary glands. Wound looked clean but I have a guarded prognosis on these types of wounds: at locations where there is a lot of fat as around mammary glands (sorry ladies!)wounds tend to heal slowly. Fat depots have a poor vascularisation and at the first laceration, the lipocytes will die, liquefy and mess up healing; hindering formation of repair tissue etc. I have left a gauze drain underneath and we'll see what comes with it on monday. Ok...funny moment during my conversation with the owner; when I prescribed pain killer suppositories he innocently asked me: "How do I give her that?" Looool! Good one! Am still waiting for someone to ask me "Do I put the suppository before or after a meal?" !
Trauma surgeries are cool but the room is in such a mess afterwards!!After the fracture surgery, my operation table was like a war zone...and it sometimes takes more time cleaning afterwards than actually performing the surgery. Talking about cleaning, I always smile when I wash one special surgical instrument: my Needle Holder! This buddy has been with me for like 17 years now and still look like new and performs like just out of the box...some stuff (and people too) are like that. I guess I will cry when this one breaks down eventually.
Yup! My 2011 started with a lot of stitching. Am happy that the heat is keeping the flies low key...otherwise, all these trauma would have been of full of wiggling, jostling little nightmares! Uuuugh!
This year starts off with a series of bad trauma that dogs sustained trying to flee firecrackers.
One trapped her leg in the metallic door she was trying to jump over, stayed hung like that for like 3 hours and fractured a leg bone before owner came to rescue. Dog came to me with a badly done bandage compressing the leg with massive pitting oedema due to loss of blood circulation. Tried to save the leg from "Compartment Syndrome" but necrosis starting at the tip of this leg; with loss of nails and pads - She is scheduled for amputation tomorrow.The limbs are made up of several"compartments"; distinct from each other and if there is an increase on internal pressure due to any kind of swelling, the pressure reverts back on the underlying blood vessels and flattens blood vessels - causing the lower parts to die. Compartment sydrome is insidious and may caost the life of your dog. Sad, Sad case...Bandage was put by someone who wanted to immobilise a fractured tarsal bone but caused much more damage than the fracture itself! Hera is a beautiful Malinois; so full of energy and life...
But I have faith in dogs' adaptation faculties...She will be alright and find a way to be happy...even with a missing lower leg.
Second dog fell from the rooftop and snapped his left femur ! Who the hell keeps dogs on rooftops?? Well...many Mauritians do...and think it's ok. So I wore my "angry eyes" and had a serious talk with the owners. The animal finds itself in blazing sunlight all day long and no matter what little shade it gets; a hot concrete rooftop is not your first choice to lie down on when you are feeling hot! Then there is wind...rain and the fact that dogs have scarce depth appreciation and in moments of extreme excitement or panic...they will cross overthe rim and fall.This one fell from a 2 storeyed house...I spent like 2 hours in surgery fixing that broken bone and judging by the amount of muscle damage the broken bones caused, he will have some permanent locomotory deficit.
The last one came today (or is it yesterday already?). The owners found their big fat doggy impaled on the projecting metallic "spikes" we like to put on our gates here. Massive deep skin laceration with exposure of mammary glands. Wound looked clean but I have a guarded prognosis on these types of wounds: at locations where there is a lot of fat as around mammary glands (sorry ladies!)wounds tend to heal slowly. Fat depots have a poor vascularisation and at the first laceration, the lipocytes will die, liquefy and mess up healing; hindering formation of repair tissue etc. I have left a gauze drain underneath and we'll see what comes with it on monday. Ok...funny moment during my conversation with the owner; when I prescribed pain killer suppositories he innocently asked me: "How do I give her that?" Looool! Good one! Am still waiting for someone to ask me "Do I put the suppository before or after a meal?" !
Trauma surgeries are cool but the room is in such a mess afterwards!!After the fracture surgery, my operation table was like a war zone...and it sometimes takes more time cleaning afterwards than actually performing the surgery. Talking about cleaning, I always smile when I wash one special surgical instrument: my Needle Holder! This buddy has been with me for like 17 years now and still look like new and performs like just out of the box...some stuff (and people too) are like that. I guess I will cry when this one breaks down eventually.
Yup! My 2011 started with a lot of stitching. Am happy that the heat is keeping the flies low key...otherwise, all these trauma would have been of full of wiggling, jostling little nightmares! Uuuugh!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
MMXI...Get the Party Animal out of your pet!
Last time I wrote on my blog was ...last year!
Been hectic days...as always at this time of the year! As we all like to say: "New Year Celebrations....all the preparations; build up etc...and now its over!"
Yup. 01.01.11 already...Whilst we are busy getting all the "partyness" out of our body; looking again at that "2011 Resolutions" list and being convinced that "this year am gonna be up to it" (Lol!) what about our pets?
I spent some time watching my own Toshka today and judging by the phone calls and texts I received over the last few days...it seems now is the time pets are celebrating...not yesterday!
Firecrackers; Fireworks; Loud people; Blaring music; too busy owners to give attention; party food maybe (Toshka had a blast with Marshmallows!)
We've heard it on the TV news;PAWS was on MBC Radio last week; I've been on Radio 1 on the 31st - about animals' sensitive hearing and how to prevent panic attacks in your pets etc...and yet all this loudness is unavoidable and last minute advice is of little to no help.
So add this to your resolutions list: "Get my dog desensitised to firecrackers this year". That is, get him prepared to that without having to go through an night of terror for the numerous times of the Year we chose to celebrate with Firecrackers.
How you do that? Well, type "Desensitise my dog to Firecrackers" and look it up on Google! Loool!And by the time you've read the first 3 articles (Yeah...no need to read all of the 23,000 search results!!) you'll be an expert in that.
For the lazy ones...basically it is based on "Positive reinforcement technique" i.e. getting your pet to associate the loud noise with a positive experience. Some use real firecrackers and others used recordings of firecrackers...but in any case use real treats to "reward" them!
Personally, if I was going to go into that I would have opted for the recordings; that gives you the option of playing with the sound volume and progressively getting your pet accustomed to louder and louder noise.
If you gonna party and have fun...don't be the only Party Animal around; am sure your pet will adore being part of that too!
Ok...need to go Party with my siblings now...and tomorrow is gonna be a big party day (mostly night) too!
Aaaaaagh! MMXI !! Day 1/365 of loads of awesomeness!
HNY to all of Ya Party Animals out there!
Been hectic days...as always at this time of the year! As we all like to say: "New Year Celebrations....all the preparations; build up etc...and now its over!"
Yup. 01.01.11 already...Whilst we are busy getting all the "partyness" out of our body; looking again at that "2011 Resolutions" list and being convinced that "this year am gonna be up to it" (Lol!) what about our pets?
I spent some time watching my own Toshka today and judging by the phone calls and texts I received over the last few days...it seems now is the time pets are celebrating...not yesterday!
Firecrackers; Fireworks; Loud people; Blaring music; too busy owners to give attention; party food maybe (Toshka had a blast with Marshmallows!)
We've heard it on the TV news;PAWS was on MBC Radio last week; I've been on Radio 1 on the 31st - about animals' sensitive hearing and how to prevent panic attacks in your pets etc...and yet all this loudness is unavoidable and last minute advice is of little to no help.
So add this to your resolutions list: "Get my dog desensitised to firecrackers this year". That is, get him prepared to that without having to go through an night of terror for the numerous times of the Year we chose to celebrate with Firecrackers.
How you do that? Well, type "Desensitise my dog to Firecrackers" and look it up on Google! Loool!And by the time you've read the first 3 articles (Yeah...no need to read all of the 23,000 search results!!) you'll be an expert in that.
For the lazy ones...basically it is based on "Positive reinforcement technique" i.e. getting your pet to associate the loud noise with a positive experience. Some use real firecrackers and others used recordings of firecrackers...but in any case use real treats to "reward" them!
Personally, if I was going to go into that I would have opted for the recordings; that gives you the option of playing with the sound volume and progressively getting your pet accustomed to louder and louder noise.
If you gonna party and have fun...don't be the only Party Animal around; am sure your pet will adore being part of that too!
Ok...need to go Party with my siblings now...and tomorrow is gonna be a big party day (mostly night) too!
Aaaaaagh! MMXI !! Day 1/365 of loads of awesomeness!
HNY to all of Ya Party Animals out there!
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Letting Go...or the "B" side of being a vet...
What is 14 years in doggy time? A lot?
When I was a young vet, still with the "smell of textbooks" on me, I used to think that it was equivalent to like 80-90 human years but along the years I have come realise that it is all subjective to the animal.
Loufi - 14 yrs old black lab,on treatment for mammary tumour, runs and bounces around like a puppy; Luka - 15 yr old cat, still behaves normally even after after amputation of her left hind paw; Pongo - First ever adopted doggy from PAWS, found dumped in a trash bin, living its 11th year with the people who adopted him and still puts up a serious "resistance" when it comes to go to the vet...
Then there are the ones that come to the clinic in such a drastic and debilitated state, even at younger ages...with fully matured cataracts, with diabetes, with pot bellies etc...not to mention the ones with severe gingivitis and teeth practically falling off.
Just as humans, dogs do not age at the same rate.How many times have I been brought dogs that were on their "last breath" with the owner struggling to keep them alive; dogs who were visibly suffering but in trying "everything to save his pet", the owner was just doing everything to prolong his sufferings...
That is when, as a veterinarian, our role is to judge what is best for the animal and counsel the owners on how to alleviate this animal's sufferings, even if that entails euthanasia. Difficult task, I must say...some owners are so bonded to the animal that their emotions "cloud" their rational and logical thinking. Oh..and there are also some vets who find it ethical to continue to treat, propose ways to keep the animal alive (but still suffering)for some period of time...just to make a little more money!
Yesterday, I had 2 cases where I had to advise euthanasia. One was a walk-in emergency with a blind poodle, with evident signs of diabetes (pot belly, drinking and eating a lot). Animal was in hypoglycaemic shock and had started seizuring. 15 yrs of being a loyal companion and now its general system was breaking down.This had been going on for like a week and he'd been to 3 other vets before. Owner was somewhat prepared for the euthanasia option and he himself admitted: " I was being selfish, just satisfying myself by keeping him alive in atrocious sufferings"
Second case was a more problematic one for me...I have known this dog and his owner for a long time and during the day she called me to tell me that 14 yr old doggy is lying down, had lost bowel control and was not well.Her whole family had already opted for euthanasia. My first reaction was to "evade" this but I quickly realised that this person was in distress too and needed to go through all this with someone they know. I finally reached her place at around 19:00 and proceeded with the euthanasia of this poor soul.
No matter how many such humane euthanasia I have performed in my life, it is always a hard moment for me. It might be so hard to decide that all you can do, as a vet,to alleviate an animal's suffering is to euthanise it; but gosh it is harder when you are pushing the plunger of that syringe and you feel the life leaving that animal. Worst moments being a vet!
Today I read an article about the Veterinarian's Oath being amended (http://www.worldvet.org/node/7350).
For all those of you who did not know...yes there exists an Oath for the newly graduated veterinarians and it now reads as follows:
"Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge."
Oath or not...it is all based on our sense of responsibility; if the owner feels responsible enough for the life of his animal and if the vet feels responsible enough to be the guardian of the animal's welfare.
"Prevention and alleviation of animal suffering"...I wish every owner and vet in this country wrote this to themselves and applied it.
When I was a young vet, still with the "smell of textbooks" on me, I used to think that it was equivalent to like 80-90 human years but along the years I have come realise that it is all subjective to the animal.
Loufi - 14 yrs old black lab,on treatment for mammary tumour, runs and bounces around like a puppy; Luka - 15 yr old cat, still behaves normally even after after amputation of her left hind paw; Pongo - First ever adopted doggy from PAWS, found dumped in a trash bin, living its 11th year with the people who adopted him and still puts up a serious "resistance" when it comes to go to the vet...
Then there are the ones that come to the clinic in such a drastic and debilitated state, even at younger ages...with fully matured cataracts, with diabetes, with pot bellies etc...not to mention the ones with severe gingivitis and teeth practically falling off.
Just as humans, dogs do not age at the same rate.How many times have I been brought dogs that were on their "last breath" with the owner struggling to keep them alive; dogs who were visibly suffering but in trying "everything to save his pet", the owner was just doing everything to prolong his sufferings...
That is when, as a veterinarian, our role is to judge what is best for the animal and counsel the owners on how to alleviate this animal's sufferings, even if that entails euthanasia. Difficult task, I must say...some owners are so bonded to the animal that their emotions "cloud" their rational and logical thinking. Oh..and there are also some vets who find it ethical to continue to treat, propose ways to keep the animal alive (but still suffering)for some period of time...just to make a little more money!
Yesterday, I had 2 cases where I had to advise euthanasia. One was a walk-in emergency with a blind poodle, with evident signs of diabetes (pot belly, drinking and eating a lot). Animal was in hypoglycaemic shock and had started seizuring. 15 yrs of being a loyal companion and now its general system was breaking down.This had been going on for like a week and he'd been to 3 other vets before. Owner was somewhat prepared for the euthanasia option and he himself admitted: " I was being selfish, just satisfying myself by keeping him alive in atrocious sufferings"
Second case was a more problematic one for me...I have known this dog and his owner for a long time and during the day she called me to tell me that 14 yr old doggy is lying down, had lost bowel control and was not well.Her whole family had already opted for euthanasia. My first reaction was to "evade" this but I quickly realised that this person was in distress too and needed to go through all this with someone they know. I finally reached her place at around 19:00 and proceeded with the euthanasia of this poor soul.
No matter how many such humane euthanasia I have performed in my life, it is always a hard moment for me. It might be so hard to decide that all you can do, as a vet,to alleviate an animal's suffering is to euthanise it; but gosh it is harder when you are pushing the plunger of that syringe and you feel the life leaving that animal. Worst moments being a vet!
Today I read an article about the Veterinarian's Oath being amended (http://www.worldvet.org/node/7350).
For all those of you who did not know...yes there exists an Oath for the newly graduated veterinarians and it now reads as follows:
"Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge."
Oath or not...it is all based on our sense of responsibility; if the owner feels responsible enough for the life of his animal and if the vet feels responsible enough to be the guardian of the animal's welfare.
"Prevention and alleviation of animal suffering"...I wish every owner and vet in this country wrote this to themselves and applied it.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Swirls and Swings of Emotions...
"The veterinarian must be a good observer"...My lecturers told me that and I have learnt it the first day I started seeing my first cases 17 years ago. A veterinarian's patient does not talk and all assessment and diagnoses must be based on objective measurements and sometimes subjective observations. But what happens with the years, is that you start observing the people too..you start unintentionally recording body language and behaviour of the owners. Everything is based on emotions or the lack of it; here is a brief overview of the past few emotion-laden days of consulting at the Island Vet Clinic:
Wednesday - Oversized 8 month old dog brought to the clinic with a midshaft fracture of the right femur. Whole family came and a six year old boy kept asking me if his "bhaya" would be ok; if "bjaya" would be able to run again...and my heart just melted! For those not understanding, "bhaya" means brother in hindi. Turns out Rex is a full member of the family and is the companion of little boy."Bhaya" went home with a fixed leg at practically no costs!
Thursday - Old friend from University days calls me in panic and asking for help because he ran over his own dog whilst reversing in his alley. "Ru-ruz" is 14 yrs old and had some difficulty ambulating before the accident...now he was just lying down in shock!I was going to a meeting at PAWS; so scheduled an intervention there itself. During all the procedure and surgery (broken leg again!)he kept saying "I could never be a vet...I would never be have been able to do what you are doing"..."I want to help but I cannot...not feeling well, must be the smell". This guy is a tough-built triathlon athlete known to be the "rock" in our group of friends...but I guess guilt and seeing his dog under the scalpel overruled all this...Emotional phone call again the next day to tell me Ru-Ruz is doing fine and even trying to walk!
Friday - Dog Breeder brings in a cute Rott pup and when asked to hold the baby up for me to inspect the belly, he violently grabbed the latter by the loose skin at the scruff and the rump to lift it up!Like a mere sack of meat. Wow! I was irritated by such lack of compassion and made him understand that he should respect the animal. Answer I got was: "I read that it was not painful! His dog trainer always does this too!" My answer to him was:I guess those idiots who wrote that it was not painful do not know that there are pain sensors in the skin; and that "trainer" should be grabbed in the same way and kicked in his butt to learn to treat animals with respect ! Angry Dr Sam moment.
Well...that was yet another Dog Breeder who believes dogs are just commodities...just ways to earn easy money.
Saturday - "Poupoune" comes back to the clinic after one week supportive therapy and a battery of blood tests...still not eating; vomiting, difficult breathing and somewhat distended abdomen. Every night I have been receiving phone calls about her and I could sense that this animal was very important to that couple. So Poupoune sitting and breathing heavily on the exam table; Dr Sam analysing the blood results...definitely some infection going on but what? Palpation reveals very painful abdomen. So I decide to go in for abdominal exploratory laparotomy...lady starts crying and told me that they do not have any children and that this dog is all she has!
Talk about putting more pressure on me now!! Anyways, I am not the type to "grope in the dark" and give medications arbitrarily and keep my fingers crossed that one of them will work...and I still manage to make them understand that exploratory surgery is the best option; that if something is wrong inside the abdomen, I should go in and try fix it.
Good call!! Upon opening of the abdomen, a massive uterus, full of pus, litterally "popped out" onto my drapes!Amazing how this animal was carrying that infected uterus! Anyways, surgery went well and Poupoune recovered "relieved from a big weight"
Saturday itself - Very beautiful lady walks in with her daughters carrying a carton box with a cat in drastic state. Later, I learnt that the lady was Miss Mauritius 1989 and she is now a senior lecturer at the University of Mauritius. I googled her and I must say that she is far more beautiful now in her late forties than in 1989 when she wore the Crown!
Hmmm!Okay...visibly, Miss Mauritius triggered some emotions here...but lets get back to "kitty-in-carton-box"! She was found on the street by one of the daughters and had a purulent nasty wound on her right hind leg and she seemed to have been starving.As if all of this was not enough, she had a bad respiratory infection and ocular discharges. tried my best for this cat but I have a guarded prognosis on this one. We'll see what are the news tomorrow....when Miss Mauritius brings her back for follow up.
Did I mention that the lady was dressed with rare taste? No? Looool! Well she was...and that was like adding sugar to honey!
Today (Sunday)- Went out to the clinic to clean but had an early appointment for a "pawicure" for an old friend. "Pongo" is the very first dog adopted out at PAWS. He was found in a garbage bin in 1999 by one of the founder members and has grown up along the years from a mangy skinny puppy into a fiersty little "survivor"full of energy...taking on even Rotts as per the "tales" of the owner. I had to sedate the animal to be able to cut his nails properly. During that process, Pongo had to be restrained and was putting on a whole vocal show. Diazepam did the trick but as soon as the dog was lying down sedated...the daughter of the owner fainted!Gosh!I guess that seeing our own animal being stressed gets us all "upside down" too.
My "Emergency Red Bull" went into the human reanimation process and both Pongo and Michaela went home safe!
So...being a vet is not just smelling like a dog, treating all sorts of animals,spending lots of hours away from your family, walking in cow dung,getting scratches and bites etc...it also involves,at least for me, a good dose of emotions; positive and negative ones. If you really are into being a veterinarian out of compassion to animals then you will be flooded with these emotions. The trick is how you react to them...and sometimes it is so hard to rationalise or find any logic in them. I chose to accept them and try to make a change wherever I can. I really appreciate the positive emotions coming from more and more owners these days...making me think that there is light at the end of the tunnel!
In the choice of being a Vet, I guess the heart has to have the last word...
Wednesday - Oversized 8 month old dog brought to the clinic with a midshaft fracture of the right femur. Whole family came and a six year old boy kept asking me if his "bhaya" would be ok; if "bjaya" would be able to run again...and my heart just melted! For those not understanding, "bhaya" means brother in hindi. Turns out Rex is a full member of the family and is the companion of little boy."Bhaya" went home with a fixed leg at practically no costs!
Thursday - Old friend from University days calls me in panic and asking for help because he ran over his own dog whilst reversing in his alley. "Ru-ruz" is 14 yrs old and had some difficulty ambulating before the accident...now he was just lying down in shock!I was going to a meeting at PAWS; so scheduled an intervention there itself. During all the procedure and surgery (broken leg again!)he kept saying "I could never be a vet...I would never be have been able to do what you are doing"..."I want to help but I cannot...not feeling well, must be the smell". This guy is a tough-built triathlon athlete known to be the "rock" in our group of friends...but I guess guilt and seeing his dog under the scalpel overruled all this...Emotional phone call again the next day to tell me Ru-Ruz is doing fine and even trying to walk!
Friday - Dog Breeder brings in a cute Rott pup and when asked to hold the baby up for me to inspect the belly, he violently grabbed the latter by the loose skin at the scruff and the rump to lift it up!Like a mere sack of meat. Wow! I was irritated by such lack of compassion and made him understand that he should respect the animal. Answer I got was: "I read that it was not painful! His dog trainer always does this too!" My answer to him was:I guess those idiots who wrote that it was not painful do not know that there are pain sensors in the skin; and that "trainer" should be grabbed in the same way and kicked in his butt to learn to treat animals with respect ! Angry Dr Sam moment.
Well...that was yet another Dog Breeder who believes dogs are just commodities...just ways to earn easy money.
Saturday - "Poupoune" comes back to the clinic after one week supportive therapy and a battery of blood tests...still not eating; vomiting, difficult breathing and somewhat distended abdomen. Every night I have been receiving phone calls about her and I could sense that this animal was very important to that couple. So Poupoune sitting and breathing heavily on the exam table; Dr Sam analysing the blood results...definitely some infection going on but what? Palpation reveals very painful abdomen. So I decide to go in for abdominal exploratory laparotomy...lady starts crying and told me that they do not have any children and that this dog is all she has!
Talk about putting more pressure on me now!! Anyways, I am not the type to "grope in the dark" and give medications arbitrarily and keep my fingers crossed that one of them will work...and I still manage to make them understand that exploratory surgery is the best option; that if something is wrong inside the abdomen, I should go in and try fix it.
Good call!! Upon opening of the abdomen, a massive uterus, full of pus, litterally "popped out" onto my drapes!Amazing how this animal was carrying that infected uterus! Anyways, surgery went well and Poupoune recovered "relieved from a big weight"
Saturday itself - Very beautiful lady walks in with her daughters carrying a carton box with a cat in drastic state. Later, I learnt that the lady was Miss Mauritius 1989 and she is now a senior lecturer at the University of Mauritius. I googled her and I must say that she is far more beautiful now in her late forties than in 1989 when she wore the Crown!
Hmmm!Okay...visibly, Miss Mauritius triggered some emotions here...but lets get back to "kitty-in-carton-box"! She was found on the street by one of the daughters and had a purulent nasty wound on her right hind leg and she seemed to have been starving.As if all of this was not enough, she had a bad respiratory infection and ocular discharges. tried my best for this cat but I have a guarded prognosis on this one. We'll see what are the news tomorrow....when Miss Mauritius brings her back for follow up.
Did I mention that the lady was dressed with rare taste? No? Looool! Well she was...and that was like adding sugar to honey!
Today (Sunday)- Went out to the clinic to clean but had an early appointment for a "pawicure" for an old friend. "Pongo" is the very first dog adopted out at PAWS. He was found in a garbage bin in 1999 by one of the founder members and has grown up along the years from a mangy skinny puppy into a fiersty little "survivor"full of energy...taking on even Rotts as per the "tales" of the owner. I had to sedate the animal to be able to cut his nails properly. During that process, Pongo had to be restrained and was putting on a whole vocal show. Diazepam did the trick but as soon as the dog was lying down sedated...the daughter of the owner fainted!Gosh!I guess that seeing our own animal being stressed gets us all "upside down" too.
My "Emergency Red Bull" went into the human reanimation process and both Pongo and Michaela went home safe!
So...being a vet is not just smelling like a dog, treating all sorts of animals,spending lots of hours away from your family, walking in cow dung,getting scratches and bites etc...it also involves,at least for me, a good dose of emotions; positive and negative ones. If you really are into being a veterinarian out of compassion to animals then you will be flooded with these emotions. The trick is how you react to them...and sometimes it is so hard to rationalise or find any logic in them. I chose to accept them and try to make a change wherever I can. I really appreciate the positive emotions coming from more and more owners these days...making me think that there is light at the end of the tunnel!
In the choice of being a Vet, I guess the heart has to have the last word...
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
A MidSummer's Nightmare...
It's that time of the year again in Mauritius!!
I am not talking about the blazing sun; the packed beaches nor the short skirts of the girls...but what I mean is: It's Fly invasion time...and for a vet it means long sessions bent over maggot infested wounds!!
Yup! Got 2 last week and I know they will keep coming (especially at PAWS. The tiniest wound could be the deadliest one!
People have the bad habit of bringing their animals to the vet when they have time...not when the animal is wounded. So a minor trauma that happened Monday would eventually be seen by a vet on Saturday; and by that time flies have done their reproductive aerial trick; laid eggs in the wound and the animal is now being EATEN ALIVE by the maggots! And the stink!!! Gosh!It stays in your sinuses for like days!
Poor animals...can't even imagine how it feels to have maggots eating their way through my flesh!One good thing about maggots though, is that they keep a wound "clean".i.e. a maggot infested wound will never be infected by bacteria nor have pus in it.
So what's the routine for maggot-infested wound? Anaesthesia of course; forceps; some cypermethrin solution and call the owner to watch you pull the wriggling little devils out of the wound...guaranteed sensational impact!"Waaaah!"; "Oh My God!"; "Can't believe that there are so many!"; "lemme get a pic of that with my phone camera!"
For the owner, it might seem like a great thing to witness and a great story to tell the buddies but from the Veterinarian's standpoint, it's such a pain in the neck (literally!)to manage such wounds! Ok, you've removed (or you think you've removed)all of them; then what? You cannot close such a wound. Doggy needs at least 3-4 days of wet-dry bandaging to get granulation of tissues going and when you are satisfied and wound ready to be stitched up, you realise that there is very little skin left to appose; all gone in the big hole eaten out by the maggots. Tough call!
Special plea to all pet owners out there...do not wait to attend to a wound on your animal.Merciless flies are lurking around and just waiting to lay their eggs in them!
Clean and disinfect with Betadine Solution; apply some "Healing Oil" - that will sure keep the flies away and accelerate resolution of trauma and despite me being a "non-spray" person...I would recommend Supona spray.It is something you would want to have handy in these summer days. The only problem with Supona is that it masks all underlying tissues; you do not know for sure if the tissue is healing or necrotising underneath the blue coating Supona leaves...and the animals hate the stinging sensation of the spray too.
Be wary, pet owners; for, as Shakespeare puts it in A Midsummer's Night Dream:
Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere
...and that applies to flies too!
Get your dog the medical attention it needs when it really needs it; do not wait for complications.
I am not talking about the blazing sun; the packed beaches nor the short skirts of the girls...but what I mean is: It's Fly invasion time...and for a vet it means long sessions bent over maggot infested wounds!!
Yup! Got 2 last week and I know they will keep coming (especially at PAWS. The tiniest wound could be the deadliest one!
People have the bad habit of bringing their animals to the vet when they have time...not when the animal is wounded. So a minor trauma that happened Monday would eventually be seen by a vet on Saturday; and by that time flies have done their reproductive aerial trick; laid eggs in the wound and the animal is now being EATEN ALIVE by the maggots! And the stink!!! Gosh!It stays in your sinuses for like days!
Poor animals...can't even imagine how it feels to have maggots eating their way through my flesh!One good thing about maggots though, is that they keep a wound "clean".i.e. a maggot infested wound will never be infected by bacteria nor have pus in it.
So what's the routine for maggot-infested wound? Anaesthesia of course; forceps; some cypermethrin solution and call the owner to watch you pull the wriggling little devils out of the wound...guaranteed sensational impact!"Waaaah!"; "Oh My God!"; "Can't believe that there are so many!"; "lemme get a pic of that with my phone camera!"
For the owner, it might seem like a great thing to witness and a great story to tell the buddies but from the Veterinarian's standpoint, it's such a pain in the neck (literally!)to manage such wounds! Ok, you've removed (or you think you've removed)all of them; then what? You cannot close such a wound. Doggy needs at least 3-4 days of wet-dry bandaging to get granulation of tissues going and when you are satisfied and wound ready to be stitched up, you realise that there is very little skin left to appose; all gone in the big hole eaten out by the maggots. Tough call!
Special plea to all pet owners out there...do not wait to attend to a wound on your animal.Merciless flies are lurking around and just waiting to lay their eggs in them!
Clean and disinfect with Betadine Solution; apply some "Healing Oil" - that will sure keep the flies away and accelerate resolution of trauma and despite me being a "non-spray" person...I would recommend Supona spray.It is something you would want to have handy in these summer days. The only problem with Supona is that it masks all underlying tissues; you do not know for sure if the tissue is healing or necrotising underneath the blue coating Supona leaves...and the animals hate the stinging sensation of the spray too.
Be wary, pet owners; for, as Shakespeare puts it in A Midsummer's Night Dream:
Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere
...and that applies to flies too!
Get your dog the medical attention it needs when it really needs it; do not wait for complications.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
The Price of Rice...
Wow! More than a week without blogging!!
Yep! That is December!More work; too much distractions and...kids on holidays!
I was thinking of "How much fat is too fat" as title for this blog but hey...after the budget and all the price rises...
Last Wednesday, someone comes in with a dog with difficult breathing and a somewhat taut and round belly. Dog had stopped eating "normally" and was sulking; barely picking bits and pieces from her bowl.One round, fat-rumped little mongrel uneasily made its way to my exam table
After assessment it appeared that the dog had a bad uterine infection and we decided to go in surgery immediately.The uterus was thrice normal size; full of pus and it was a delicate piece of work to detach and excise this organ from its adjacent abdominal fat!Wow!Liver was infiltrated with fat; kidneys were embedded in a thick layer and all the intestines were heavily laden too.
This got me thinking that the heart must be struggling to throb in a nice thick fatty envelope too; and the bigger space the heart occupies in the thorax, the less space there must be for the lungs to inflate properly. No wonder this lady was having trouble breathing.
As expected, she took ages to come out of the aneasthesia after surgery. The injectable compound we use is what we call "lipophillic";i.e. is attracted to and deposits into fat and thus takes longer to be excreted from there too.So I used that time to chat a little with the owner about what was her diet and how it should be from now on. She was on rice and canned food daily with occasional meat and chicken "derivatives" (li cou and la patte). I love it when I get the standard answer from the owners about changing their dog's diet: " But Doc, she would never eat that!She would come whine at us!Oh Poor thing, she loved her fatty foods!" Dogs do all that because they have the choice and when really hungry, they will eat what you propose.
There was a time when our little Mauritian doggies were being fed table left overs only; when there was no left overs they had some stale bread to eat or went to the neighbours. This time is long gone and most of us do prepare special food for our dogs and cats daily; but still what food? Rice of course! Rice with tuna, rice with chicken; rice with meat; rice with anything! That is what WE eat us Mauritians. Staple food is..rice! Must be a legacy from our mostly Asian origins.Ever wondered who eats most of the lower grade "ration" rice in Mauritius? Surely not human! But what about dogs? Their system has not evolved to process rice and other carbohydrates like pasta, "roti" etc. Whatever slow carb that is not used goes straight into fat depots all over the body.
Practically, 7 out of 10 dogs that come to the vet clinic are overweight and the older they get; the worse it is. Worse because then diabetes kicks in; along with joint problems. Vicious circle it is...the heavier the doggy gets the more pressure is on the joints and the more inflamed the joints become; the less the animal walks and the fatter it becomes.
There is also that enigmatic disease in obese cats called the "Fatty Liver Syndrome". Fat cat just stops eating from one day to the other and dies of inanition and general organ failure. Upon necropsy all the fat of its body degenerated into an oily, viscous liquid in a process called saponification; just like that, all of a sudden; as if a signal had been given for that.
So all of you out there reading this blog, rice is okay but alternate with dog pellets.At least the animal gets some fiber. For the ones willing to make an extra effort for their loved ones; half the rice rations and add cooked vegetable peels to their food; i.e. fill their stomach but with non caloric food. Exercise your dog if he/she is of the "couch potato" type; sporty dogs are much more interactive and smarty ones. Mens Sana in Corpore Sano they say...applies to dogs and cats too I guess!
Bear in mind that there is a health price to pay for feeding your pet too much rice and it is well above the tag on the bag at the Supermarket...It might cost your beloved one its life.
Yep! That is December!More work; too much distractions and...kids on holidays!
I was thinking of "How much fat is too fat" as title for this blog but hey...after the budget and all the price rises...
Last Wednesday, someone comes in with a dog with difficult breathing and a somewhat taut and round belly. Dog had stopped eating "normally" and was sulking; barely picking bits and pieces from her bowl.One round, fat-rumped little mongrel uneasily made its way to my exam table
After assessment it appeared that the dog had a bad uterine infection and we decided to go in surgery immediately.The uterus was thrice normal size; full of pus and it was a delicate piece of work to detach and excise this organ from its adjacent abdominal fat!Wow!Liver was infiltrated with fat; kidneys were embedded in a thick layer and all the intestines were heavily laden too.
This got me thinking that the heart must be struggling to throb in a nice thick fatty envelope too; and the bigger space the heart occupies in the thorax, the less space there must be for the lungs to inflate properly. No wonder this lady was having trouble breathing.
As expected, she took ages to come out of the aneasthesia after surgery. The injectable compound we use is what we call "lipophillic";i.e. is attracted to and deposits into fat and thus takes longer to be excreted from there too.So I used that time to chat a little with the owner about what was her diet and how it should be from now on. She was on rice and canned food daily with occasional meat and chicken "derivatives" (li cou and la patte). I love it when I get the standard answer from the owners about changing their dog's diet: " But Doc, she would never eat that!She would come whine at us!Oh Poor thing, she loved her fatty foods!" Dogs do all that because they have the choice and when really hungry, they will eat what you propose.
There was a time when our little Mauritian doggies were being fed table left overs only; when there was no left overs they had some stale bread to eat or went to the neighbours. This time is long gone and most of us do prepare special food for our dogs and cats daily; but still what food? Rice of course! Rice with tuna, rice with chicken; rice with meat; rice with anything! That is what WE eat us Mauritians. Staple food is..rice! Must be a legacy from our mostly Asian origins.Ever wondered who eats most of the lower grade "ration" rice in Mauritius? Surely not human! But what about dogs? Their system has not evolved to process rice and other carbohydrates like pasta, "roti" etc. Whatever slow carb that is not used goes straight into fat depots all over the body.
Practically, 7 out of 10 dogs that come to the vet clinic are overweight and the older they get; the worse it is. Worse because then diabetes kicks in; along with joint problems. Vicious circle it is...the heavier the doggy gets the more pressure is on the joints and the more inflamed the joints become; the less the animal walks and the fatter it becomes.
There is also that enigmatic disease in obese cats called the "Fatty Liver Syndrome". Fat cat just stops eating from one day to the other and dies of inanition and general organ failure. Upon necropsy all the fat of its body degenerated into an oily, viscous liquid in a process called saponification; just like that, all of a sudden; as if a signal had been given for that.
So all of you out there reading this blog, rice is okay but alternate with dog pellets.At least the animal gets some fiber. For the ones willing to make an extra effort for their loved ones; half the rice rations and add cooked vegetable peels to their food; i.e. fill their stomach but with non caloric food. Exercise your dog if he/she is of the "couch potato" type; sporty dogs are much more interactive and smarty ones. Mens Sana in Corpore Sano they say...applies to dogs and cats too I guess!
Bear in mind that there is a health price to pay for feeding your pet too much rice and it is well above the tag on the bag at the Supermarket...It might cost your beloved one its life.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
When did Cruelty become Officially Acceptable?
Throughout the years of fighting and arguing with colleagues and "supposedly" animal-lovers over the same subject, I have learnt to mind my own business and try to change what I can on my side when it comes to ear cropping and tail docking...But I get mad each time I see animals who have been mutilated for the pleasure of the owner.
Since 1 week now I have been struggling to save a Boxer puppy from septic death because of an infected tail amputation. Personally, I do not understand what kind of ethics some vets have in accepting to cut tails and ears of puppies?!?! Did you chose to be a vet to inflict suffering to an animal? I guess the answer is simple...and its the money!
And all of you owners who say you love your dogs? Since when did it become acceptable for you to torture an animal by snipping off its tail or re-shaping it ears to fit in "standards"?? Would you cut the fingers or the tongue of your child if tomorrow some dumb fools declared it as fashionable? And yet you do it to your puppy and find it "normal"!
So back to little puppy...brought in emergency last Saturday with what owner thought was Parvovirus infection (diarrhoea/vomiting). Brief inspection revealed a severely infected tail amputation and all the signs of a raging septicaemia. Emergency IV fluids, aggressive antibiotic therapy, daily visits to the clinic and we gained the upper hand and pulled the baby back from the grave by wednesday. Another person who was witnesing the treatments whilst waiting for her turn asked the owner what was the name of the dog. To the "He doesn't have a name yet" answer she replied "You should call him Sam!"...and Sammy Junior was christened!
Today Sam Junior is back to life and off antibiotics and is as lively as ever, but did he ever ask for all that? Was he born with a tail to have it painfully cut? Damn You! Old farts at the "Kennel Club" who invented standards for dogs. Bravo! For turning a loving pet into an object with specfic "designs"...and I cannot understand why the same owners who feel compassion to the plight of mistreated animals agree to and accept the concept that their dogs MUST be mutilated to be "good-looking"! I know so many of them!! Is cosmetic cruelty acceptable for you and yet you are the first one to shout out loud when someone ties a chain around the neck of a dog instead of using a collar? Isn't that the summum of hypocrisy??
Ears and tail serve a very important purpose for dogs...they are used in communication. Depending on how a dog positions or moves ears and its tail, it sends a clear signal to any other dog about his intentions/mood etc.And yet, breed standards are more important than that for so many of us...and yet we decide to deprive them of proper anatomical means of communication.
Cosmetic Ear cropping and Tail docking has been banned in so many civilised countries but I guess Mauritius is not yet in the civilised pool when it comes to Animals. And we will never be there so long responsible owners prefer to close their eyes on the CRUELTY aspect of this practice...so long Veterinarians, who are supposed to be the guardians of Animal Welfare, agree to cut the ears and tails of puppies.At this age, they cannot be safely anaesthetised...I let you imagine for yourself how this surgery is done and,if they are lucky not to be infected,how many days they will have to put up with atrocious pain. In the name of what? Just for the sake of YOUR selfish need to have a dog fitting into stupid "standards"...
Get back to your senses people!! Cruelty, in all its forms, is UNACCEPTABLE!! I am doing my part as a vet and barking at Cosmetic Mutilations of dogs on this blog...now see what YOU have to do. Be the change you want to bring and stop pretending that "its ok" because its the breed type!I know, I will be shocking so many with what I just wrote. Be shocked, get over it and come back to your senses and talk about it with people! If by talking you prevented at least one puppy from being mutilated that will be one good thing you did!
Sam junior, has a 0.9 cm tail stump left that is healing and he tried hard today to "wag" it and lick the face of his owner today...Unconditional love. No matter how the owner looks like, whether he is black, white, has long hair, pointed or flat nose, whether he wears Armani or he is sweating...the dog accepts and loves his owner. But unfortunately, this is not true for so many owners...the love is under specific conditions...dog must fit in the "standards"; even if that means chopping off tails and ears!!
Crazy Hypocritical world we live in...
Since 1 week now I have been struggling to save a Boxer puppy from septic death because of an infected tail amputation. Personally, I do not understand what kind of ethics some vets have in accepting to cut tails and ears of puppies?!?! Did you chose to be a vet to inflict suffering to an animal? I guess the answer is simple...and its the money!
And all of you owners who say you love your dogs? Since when did it become acceptable for you to torture an animal by snipping off its tail or re-shaping it ears to fit in "standards"?? Would you cut the fingers or the tongue of your child if tomorrow some dumb fools declared it as fashionable? And yet you do it to your puppy and find it "normal"!
So back to little puppy...brought in emergency last Saturday with what owner thought was Parvovirus infection (diarrhoea/vomiting). Brief inspection revealed a severely infected tail amputation and all the signs of a raging septicaemia. Emergency IV fluids, aggressive antibiotic therapy, daily visits to the clinic and we gained the upper hand and pulled the baby back from the grave by wednesday. Another person who was witnesing the treatments whilst waiting for her turn asked the owner what was the name of the dog. To the "He doesn't have a name yet" answer she replied "You should call him Sam!"...and Sammy Junior was christened!
Today Sam Junior is back to life and off antibiotics and is as lively as ever, but did he ever ask for all that? Was he born with a tail to have it painfully cut? Damn You! Old farts at the "Kennel Club" who invented standards for dogs. Bravo! For turning a loving pet into an object with specfic "designs"...and I cannot understand why the same owners who feel compassion to the plight of mistreated animals agree to and accept the concept that their dogs MUST be mutilated to be "good-looking"! I know so many of them!! Is cosmetic cruelty acceptable for you and yet you are the first one to shout out loud when someone ties a chain around the neck of a dog instead of using a collar? Isn't that the summum of hypocrisy??
Ears and tail serve a very important purpose for dogs...they are used in communication. Depending on how a dog positions or moves ears and its tail, it sends a clear signal to any other dog about his intentions/mood etc.And yet, breed standards are more important than that for so many of us...and yet we decide to deprive them of proper anatomical means of communication.
Cosmetic Ear cropping and Tail docking has been banned in so many civilised countries but I guess Mauritius is not yet in the civilised pool when it comes to Animals. And we will never be there so long responsible owners prefer to close their eyes on the CRUELTY aspect of this practice...so long Veterinarians, who are supposed to be the guardians of Animal Welfare, agree to cut the ears and tails of puppies.At this age, they cannot be safely anaesthetised...I let you imagine for yourself how this surgery is done and,if they are lucky not to be infected,how many days they will have to put up with atrocious pain. In the name of what? Just for the sake of YOUR selfish need to have a dog fitting into stupid "standards"...
Get back to your senses people!! Cruelty, in all its forms, is UNACCEPTABLE!! I am doing my part as a vet and barking at Cosmetic Mutilations of dogs on this blog...now see what YOU have to do. Be the change you want to bring and stop pretending that "its ok" because its the breed type!I know, I will be shocking so many with what I just wrote. Be shocked, get over it and come back to your senses and talk about it with people! If by talking you prevented at least one puppy from being mutilated that will be one good thing you did!
Sam junior, has a 0.9 cm tail stump left that is healing and he tried hard today to "wag" it and lick the face of his owner today...Unconditional love. No matter how the owner looks like, whether he is black, white, has long hair, pointed or flat nose, whether he wears Armani or he is sweating...the dog accepts and loves his owner. But unfortunately, this is not true for so many owners...the love is under specific conditions...dog must fit in the "standards"; even if that means chopping off tails and ears!!
Crazy Hypocritical world we live in...
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Plus valet in manibus avis unica quam dupla silvis...
Yep! Blogging time again...and I left you with a yellow bird in my hand.
Beautiful yellow parrot with a red beak. She was brought in a small bird cage with a history of greenish stools,lethargy and inappetance episodes and for having been bitten by a parrot before, I politely asked the owner to take her out. Hah! he seems to have had quite a few painful experiences too, since he had a thick leather glove ready for that! Yeah,Parrots do bite... and they really go for it. We often forget that the beak of a parrot is used to break open hard-shelled nuts and is also used as a grip to move around.
So, owner manages to get the bird our after 3 mins and I start the examination; no nasal discharges;eyes clear and sparkly; brooding patch(bald patch under belly) normal; temperature slightly higher than normal. Gave the bird some time to calm down and noted that the respiratory rate was normal.
Why I always assess parrots and birds in general for these parameters? Because,as every veterinarian, I have my "Pet-Bug" for birds! People! Do not laugh! This is real and "affects" all medical professionals! Lol! Every doctor is biased in some way by a disease that he/she has been exposed (either seen or read)to recently or a pathology that has left a deep impression on him/her...and that becomes the "Favourite Pet-Bug"! So, when I examine parrots, I always look for signs of Chlamydophila psittaci. I have seen cases in my student days and know of at least one person who died from that disease...contracted from parrots in a pet shop! Uuuh! Did I tell you that humans can get infected too? No? Well now you know! It is zoonotic!The disease is called Chlamydiasis in birds and Psitaccosis in mammals(i.e you)
Chlamydophila is one of these bacteria that have evovled with the body's defense mechanism and can now inactivate the latter and proliferate. C.psittaci is transmitted through the air and is inhaled. In the lungs, it is absorbed by the cells, in an attempt to isolate them in a pouch full of "corrosive" enzymes and digest them. But instead of being killed they inactivate the enzymes and hijack the power supply of the cells to start replicating.In the end, the cell is just a Chlamydial bombshell ready to explode and infect other cells or go out in the faeces, nasal and eye discharges to infect other animals.
Sounds like an alien or special ops movie huh? But that is what Chlamydophila does...that is why it is so deadly...and maybe that is why it is my "pet-bug".
Did I hear someone say: "What are the symptoms in humans"? Ok for all you shivering and sweating bird-keepers out there...if you have a proper hygienic way of life; if you are not immunosuppressed;if you got your bird from a reliable source, you have very faint chances of developing psittacosis. Symptoms are as for the birds: Fever, lethargy, headache, coughing...flu-like symptoms that may develop into full-fledge pneumonia.
Treatment is simple and involves at least 2 weeks antibiotics of the Tetracycline family. Birdie gets a shot in the leg muscles and goes home with tablets for 14 days with all the precautionary warnings for the owner.
For those who were too lazy to go look up the Latin quote i used as title, it says: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"...
My take on this is..."A bird in the hand and Info in the head beats any Chlamydophila in your lungs"..
Hope i tickled your brain enough for you to go look up more on this zoonotic disease now.
Beautiful yellow parrot with a red beak. She was brought in a small bird cage with a history of greenish stools,lethargy and inappetance episodes and for having been bitten by a parrot before, I politely asked the owner to take her out. Hah! he seems to have had quite a few painful experiences too, since he had a thick leather glove ready for that! Yeah,Parrots do bite... and they really go for it. We often forget that the beak of a parrot is used to break open hard-shelled nuts and is also used as a grip to move around.
So, owner manages to get the bird our after 3 mins and I start the examination; no nasal discharges;eyes clear and sparkly; brooding patch(bald patch under belly) normal; temperature slightly higher than normal. Gave the bird some time to calm down and noted that the respiratory rate was normal.
Why I always assess parrots and birds in general for these parameters? Because,as every veterinarian, I have my "Pet-Bug" for birds! People! Do not laugh! This is real and "affects" all medical professionals! Lol! Every doctor is biased in some way by a disease that he/she has been exposed (either seen or read)to recently or a pathology that has left a deep impression on him/her...and that becomes the "Favourite Pet-Bug"! So, when I examine parrots, I always look for signs of Chlamydophila psittaci. I have seen cases in my student days and know of at least one person who died from that disease...contracted from parrots in a pet shop! Uuuh! Did I tell you that humans can get infected too? No? Well now you know! It is zoonotic!The disease is called Chlamydiasis in birds and Psitaccosis in mammals(i.e you)
Chlamydophila is one of these bacteria that have evovled with the body's defense mechanism and can now inactivate the latter and proliferate. C.psittaci is transmitted through the air and is inhaled. In the lungs, it is absorbed by the cells, in an attempt to isolate them in a pouch full of "corrosive" enzymes and digest them. But instead of being killed they inactivate the enzymes and hijack the power supply of the cells to start replicating.In the end, the cell is just a Chlamydial bombshell ready to explode and infect other cells or go out in the faeces, nasal and eye discharges to infect other animals.
Sounds like an alien or special ops movie huh? But that is what Chlamydophila does...that is why it is so deadly...and maybe that is why it is my "pet-bug".
Did I hear someone say: "What are the symptoms in humans"? Ok for all you shivering and sweating bird-keepers out there...if you have a proper hygienic way of life; if you are not immunosuppressed;if you got your bird from a reliable source, you have very faint chances of developing psittacosis. Symptoms are as for the birds: Fever, lethargy, headache, coughing...flu-like symptoms that may develop into full-fledge pneumonia.
Treatment is simple and involves at least 2 weeks antibiotics of the Tetracycline family. Birdie gets a shot in the leg muscles and goes home with tablets for 14 days with all the precautionary warnings for the owner.
For those who were too lazy to go look up the Latin quote i used as title, it says: "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"...
My take on this is..."A bird in the hand and Info in the head beats any Chlamydophila in your lungs"..
Hope i tickled your brain enough for you to go look up more on this zoonotic disease now.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wag More...Bark Less...
Have you ever had a bleeding nose?Or if you want to sound cool and knowledgeable; have you ever suffered from Epistaxis?
Well I can assure you that it is extremely unpleasant...you swallow your own blood, messs up your clothes and your nose becomes kinda sensitive to touch and your stools are...black!!!Lool!
When I first saw him, Rocky was sitting quietly between a couple in their late 60s and observing everything very carefully in the waiting room. Beautiful mongrel with definitely some Dachshund blood, as evidenced by his short and slightly "twisted" front legs. So I finish my cat surgeries and get Rocky on the exam table to start the routine subjective data collection i.e. owners' story of the case. As soon as I asked the first questions, the lady started one of these long monologues where it is sometimes totally off the doggy case. I learnt about Rocky's Epistaxis problem but also about her daily schedule, about her stained rug, about her nosy neighbours, about how the other vet talked to them badly about how her husband did not help and all her despair about Rocky sneezing blood everywhere in the house!
Oh Well...So doggy is bleeding from the nose huh? Dog was very cooperative and I had no problem working on my "rule-outs":
Rule Out 1: Trauma to the nose. Trauma bleeds are mostly unilateral and this was a bilateral case. Nasal bones intact but inside mucosa of nose very swollen and red
Rule Out 2: Foreign body in nose. Nothing exciting palpated nor seen from inside nose!
Rule Out 3: Maxillary fistula from decayed tooth (usually canines). Dirty tarred teeth but all looked ok and no bumps felt on gums that would indicate abscess or anything. Gums paperwhite and even without any blood test I could see that this dog was very anaemic and that this bleeding has been going on for quite some time.
Rule Out 4: Nasal Tumour. Swelling precluded any further investigations.
So turned back to the owners and asked what did the other vet prescribe.
Antibiotics...Vincristine...and Dycinone.Antibiotics, no harm in giving some; Vincristine - too cytotoxic to my liking to start giving when you did not even confirm any tumour and Dycinone is ok to stop the bleeding. We often forget that when we lose blood we not only lose the red blood cells but also fluid and the volume of circulating goes drastically down. The animal's spleen holds some blood in reserve but that was visibly not be enough for Rocky. In such states animals collapse after minimal effort due to improper irrigation of essential organs...namely the brain! So I get the IV drip line flowing with Dextrose 5% (am sure Rocky won't mind some energy boost)and start telling the owners that they should keep the animal on Dycinone tablets and get some high-iron liver extract to enhance blood cells production.
OMG...the lady started telling me how impossible it is to give medication; how the animal does not eat; how she thinks the dog would die all of a sudden after sneezing all his blood. I barely had a time to place a word...I was trying....seriously trying!The old man who had remained silent all the time was trying to help me and asking his wife to wait and listen and all. Then he just snapped and screamed " Why don't you just shut the F**k up and listen to the Doc!!!" (To ca'av ferme to la guel et ecout dokter la?" People! World War 3 just started in Island Vet Clinic! Poor doggy sitting in the middle of all this, drip running and eyes big! After an uneasy minute, I intervened and told them that this is of no help to the dog and they'd better calm down.
Remember, the "pack-theory"? A dog considers all the members of your family as individuals of his pack; and behaviour in packs is highly ritualised. So your dog will observe and interpret all the signs from your body language, tone of voice and...from the smell that emanates from you. Fear has a smell...Anger has a smell...Despair has a smell...and your dog senses all this. Picture this now: Rocky sits there in severe anaemic distress, nose bleeding and assisting to a riot amongst the other members of the clan...not quite appeasing huh? In times of distress, your dog expects some extra care and support...not flooding his senses with Adrenaline and surely not dropping the ball on helping him fight the disease. Never forget that you are in a pack with him.
One other thing that you must never forget: Your dog will only be in the vet's hands for 30 mins for exams injections etc...the rest of the 23 hrs 30 mins of the day he will be with you and you have to follow up with the care at home. So many people tend to think that bringing animals to the vet is enough...UUH! NO! The bigger role is yours!Especially in feeding the animal properly. No food= No energy=Weak Defenses=Worsening of Disease.
The mechanic can fix the engine; change the tyres; redo the paint...but if you do not put fuel in your car it won't move.
By the time I finished explaining all that to the old couple,Rocky was done with his drip session and I sent them all with the "take-home" note: I you want to be of any help to Rocky, think like a dog and act as the leaders of the pack; and do not bail out on him at the first difficulty and...try to bark less in front of him...wag more please! (of course this last part was not said to them ! Loool!)
Pfffff....that was one of these moments! But life comes with nice surprises too...my next patient was a fiersty yellow parrot!
But that is another blog in itself...
Well I can assure you that it is extremely unpleasant...you swallow your own blood, messs up your clothes and your nose becomes kinda sensitive to touch and your stools are...black!!!Lool!
When I first saw him, Rocky was sitting quietly between a couple in their late 60s and observing everything very carefully in the waiting room. Beautiful mongrel with definitely some Dachshund blood, as evidenced by his short and slightly "twisted" front legs. So I finish my cat surgeries and get Rocky on the exam table to start the routine subjective data collection i.e. owners' story of the case. As soon as I asked the first questions, the lady started one of these long monologues where it is sometimes totally off the doggy case. I learnt about Rocky's Epistaxis problem but also about her daily schedule, about her stained rug, about her nosy neighbours, about how the other vet talked to them badly about how her husband did not help and all her despair about Rocky sneezing blood everywhere in the house!
Oh Well...So doggy is bleeding from the nose huh? Dog was very cooperative and I had no problem working on my "rule-outs":
Rule Out 1: Trauma to the nose. Trauma bleeds are mostly unilateral and this was a bilateral case. Nasal bones intact but inside mucosa of nose very swollen and red
Rule Out 2: Foreign body in nose. Nothing exciting palpated nor seen from inside nose!
Rule Out 3: Maxillary fistula from decayed tooth (usually canines). Dirty tarred teeth but all looked ok and no bumps felt on gums that would indicate abscess or anything. Gums paperwhite and even without any blood test I could see that this dog was very anaemic and that this bleeding has been going on for quite some time.
Rule Out 4: Nasal Tumour. Swelling precluded any further investigations.
So turned back to the owners and asked what did the other vet prescribe.
Antibiotics...Vincristine...and Dycinone.Antibiotics, no harm in giving some; Vincristine - too cytotoxic to my liking to start giving when you did not even confirm any tumour and Dycinone is ok to stop the bleeding. We often forget that when we lose blood we not only lose the red blood cells but also fluid and the volume of circulating goes drastically down. The animal's spleen holds some blood in reserve but that was visibly not be enough for Rocky. In such states animals collapse after minimal effort due to improper irrigation of essential organs...namely the brain! So I get the IV drip line flowing with Dextrose 5% (am sure Rocky won't mind some energy boost)and start telling the owners that they should keep the animal on Dycinone tablets and get some high-iron liver extract to enhance blood cells production.
OMG...the lady started telling me how impossible it is to give medication; how the animal does not eat; how she thinks the dog would die all of a sudden after sneezing all his blood. I barely had a time to place a word...I was trying....seriously trying!The old man who had remained silent all the time was trying to help me and asking his wife to wait and listen and all. Then he just snapped and screamed " Why don't you just shut the F**k up and listen to the Doc!!!" (To ca'av ferme to la guel et ecout dokter la?" People! World War 3 just started in Island Vet Clinic! Poor doggy sitting in the middle of all this, drip running and eyes big! After an uneasy minute, I intervened and told them that this is of no help to the dog and they'd better calm down.
Remember, the "pack-theory"? A dog considers all the members of your family as individuals of his pack; and behaviour in packs is highly ritualised. So your dog will observe and interpret all the signs from your body language, tone of voice and...from the smell that emanates from you. Fear has a smell...Anger has a smell...Despair has a smell...and your dog senses all this. Picture this now: Rocky sits there in severe anaemic distress, nose bleeding and assisting to a riot amongst the other members of the clan...not quite appeasing huh? In times of distress, your dog expects some extra care and support...not flooding his senses with Adrenaline and surely not dropping the ball on helping him fight the disease. Never forget that you are in a pack with him.
One other thing that you must never forget: Your dog will only be in the vet's hands for 30 mins for exams injections etc...the rest of the 23 hrs 30 mins of the day he will be with you and you have to follow up with the care at home. So many people tend to think that bringing animals to the vet is enough...UUH! NO! The bigger role is yours!Especially in feeding the animal properly. No food= No energy=Weak Defenses=Worsening of Disease.
The mechanic can fix the engine; change the tyres; redo the paint...but if you do not put fuel in your car it won't move.
By the time I finished explaining all that to the old couple,Rocky was done with his drip session and I sent them all with the "take-home" note: I you want to be of any help to Rocky, think like a dog and act as the leaders of the pack; and do not bail out on him at the first difficulty and...try to bark less in front of him...wag more please! (of course this last part was not said to them ! Loool!)
Pfffff....that was one of these moments! But life comes with nice surprises too...my next patient was a fiersty yellow parrot!
But that is another blog in itself...
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Nothing Purr-sonal...
My 18:00 appointment today was for a cat "with a wound in his hind leg"...and at around that time, black SUV pulls in the parking and someone brought in the animal in a cat box.
First observation: Cat box was very dirty and stinky. Huh...not really tallying with a sleek SUV!!
Second observation:It contained a totally bewildered cat, ears flat on its head, pupils dilated and soaked with its own urine...
I cautiously locked the door of the examination room and asked the owner a few preliminary questions:
Nature of the problem?-"Ummm...I think its in the hind leg..."
When did that happen? - "We noticed him, not quite himself and reluctant to move yesterday"
What's his name?How old? Sex? - "Dunno"
Ok..at this point of time, this was getting awkward and I had to ask if it was his cat.Turns out that he is "only the driver" and that owner is a big boss at one of the Ministries. Husband is a very busy person and wife travels often and tonight they were having the Minister himself coming in for dinner.
Am sure you can imagine how fun it was getting that cat out of the box for anaesthesia. Driver knew nothing about the cat and kept telling me how he was bitten...by a dog in his childhood but I "insisted" and he helped.
Inspection of the cat under anaeasthesia revealed an ugly infected wound on the inner side of the right hind leg. This wound dates back to 4 - 5 days, as evidenced by the pus and tissue necrosis going on in there.One of the tendons was totally "liquefied" and will sure leave the animal with some permanent locomotory deficit.
Cleaning-Disinfection-Debriding and cat gets a "wet-to-dry" bandage on...I made it a point to clean the cat and its catbox myself...that was the least I could do for that poor soul and sent him home with antibiotics and pain killers. On the way out I asked if someone could phone me later tonight to give me a feedback on how the kitty recovered.I understood that the cat was going to be left in the garage tonight and that there would be nobody looking after him. After I made him understand that it was important for me as a vet to know about how my patients are after aneasthesia..he promised he would go check on him and phone me.
Its nearly 22:00 now...nobody called me yet!
We often talk or hear about the mistreatment of dogs...How about cats? Are they subject to cruelty too? The above case proves that yes!I do not know why this family has cats but they are for sure not important in their daily lives. Cats, just like dogs, need and crave for attention and interaction with their owners and this kitty has very little interaction with people...otherwise that nasty wound wound have been detected on the day it happened!
Caring is not limited to feeding and providing shelter. What's the use of eating posh cat food and sleep on expensive sofas if you do not feel any attention/interaction with your owner.
I guess that cat had a place before in this family but with the change in time tables he got forgotten and now he is just a "decoration" in that household. At least he got brought to a vet though...but in a critical state.
Cats are no "lesser" creatures than dogs...Yes,they are more independent but that doesn't mean you can just have them around and not interact with them. If you have an animal at home,and you do not have time to look after it or provide companionship, you seriously have to re-think the whole picture. Maybe even consider giving the animal to another family.
On the other hand, got a phone call during the day from a lady lecturer at the University of Mauritius; she was asking for help in catching 2 kittens from some wasteland next to her house.During the conversation she explained to me that she has rescued like 20 stray cats and wants to help these two too...
Same World,Same Animals, Same People...Different Values! I will try my best to go help that lady tomorrow afternoon and I am going to see "Mr Busy's" cat on saturday...I hope he comes personally because I have a few things to make him understand.
Nothing "Purr-sonal" but I have to remind him about his responsibilities.
First observation: Cat box was very dirty and stinky. Huh...not really tallying with a sleek SUV!!
Second observation:It contained a totally bewildered cat, ears flat on its head, pupils dilated and soaked with its own urine...
I cautiously locked the door of the examination room and asked the owner a few preliminary questions:
Nature of the problem?-"Ummm...I think its in the hind leg..."
When did that happen? - "We noticed him, not quite himself and reluctant to move yesterday"
What's his name?How old? Sex? - "Dunno"
Ok..at this point of time, this was getting awkward and I had to ask if it was his cat.Turns out that he is "only the driver" and that owner is a big boss at one of the Ministries. Husband is a very busy person and wife travels often and tonight they were having the Minister himself coming in for dinner.
Am sure you can imagine how fun it was getting that cat out of the box for anaesthesia. Driver knew nothing about the cat and kept telling me how he was bitten...by a dog in his childhood but I "insisted" and he helped.
Inspection of the cat under anaeasthesia revealed an ugly infected wound on the inner side of the right hind leg. This wound dates back to 4 - 5 days, as evidenced by the pus and tissue necrosis going on in there.One of the tendons was totally "liquefied" and will sure leave the animal with some permanent locomotory deficit.
Cleaning-Disinfection-Debriding and cat gets a "wet-to-dry" bandage on...I made it a point to clean the cat and its catbox myself...that was the least I could do for that poor soul and sent him home with antibiotics and pain killers. On the way out I asked if someone could phone me later tonight to give me a feedback on how the kitty recovered.I understood that the cat was going to be left in the garage tonight and that there would be nobody looking after him. After I made him understand that it was important for me as a vet to know about how my patients are after aneasthesia..he promised he would go check on him and phone me.
Its nearly 22:00 now...nobody called me yet!
We often talk or hear about the mistreatment of dogs...How about cats? Are they subject to cruelty too? The above case proves that yes!I do not know why this family has cats but they are for sure not important in their daily lives. Cats, just like dogs, need and crave for attention and interaction with their owners and this kitty has very little interaction with people...otherwise that nasty wound wound have been detected on the day it happened!
Caring is not limited to feeding and providing shelter. What's the use of eating posh cat food and sleep on expensive sofas if you do not feel any attention/interaction with your owner.
I guess that cat had a place before in this family but with the change in time tables he got forgotten and now he is just a "decoration" in that household. At least he got brought to a vet though...but in a critical state.
Cats are no "lesser" creatures than dogs...Yes,they are more independent but that doesn't mean you can just have them around and not interact with them. If you have an animal at home,and you do not have time to look after it or provide companionship, you seriously have to re-think the whole picture. Maybe even consider giving the animal to another family.
On the other hand, got a phone call during the day from a lady lecturer at the University of Mauritius; she was asking for help in catching 2 kittens from some wasteland next to her house.During the conversation she explained to me that she has rescued like 20 stray cats and wants to help these two too...
Same World,Same Animals, Same People...Different Values! I will try my best to go help that lady tomorrow afternoon and I am going to see "Mr Busy's" cat on saturday...I hope he comes personally because I have a few things to make him understand.
Nothing "Purr-sonal" but I have to remind him about his responsibilities.
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