Tuesday Vet Run

Yesterday I picked up 2 more dogs from Wiang Kum Kam for sterilisation. They stayed the night at the shelter, to ensure 'Nil by mouth' and today join the other day trippers to the vet.

Firstly there was Becky, a puppy dumped at a temple last week and suffering from a bite from another dog. In fact this has developed into a hernia and the vet said he would operate to repair it. She stayed in for the day & I collected her in the evening. She slept on the front seat next to me all the way home.

Next were 3 more puppies, also found dumped at a temple last week. They have a rash on their bodies. Thankfully its not mange and the vet recommended we use medicated shampoo to help the skin.

Benji came along today for a check on his wound from sterilisation last week. Despite putting a collar on him, as with all post op patients, he managed to lose the collar and give himself a good licking, taking off the bandage. The skin was inflamed and there was a slight infection. The vet recommend we change the antibiotics and also give him a pain killer to comfort him. This might explain why he has been so frantic lately, charging about the enclosures like a bull in a china shop. Regarding his contact dermatitis, the vet said his skin was healing well.

BuunRod, the hit & run casualty from 2 weeks ago, came to the vet today for a blood test. She seems to be improving with the supplements we are giving her. She is now walking on 3 legs albeit not much and is pooing & peeing when & where she wants to.

Big, the serious mange case, is having a hard time with his medication this week. After examination, the vet recommended we should stop the Ivomec for 5 days and then if he stops vomiting, start the medication again.

Then it was the turn of the 2 little pups from the village that we saw last Friday. The vet tested their faeces and found significant amounts of round worm and also Coccidia, protozoa infection of the intestine, that would cause diarrhea. He prescribed Vit B syrup to promote recovery and Trimethoprim Sulfa to deal with the infection of the intestine. These poor things were so weak and helpless. They had no strength in their legs and they were showing signs of neural damage in the form of shakes.

Finally I asked the vet about Paul, another hit & run casualty. Unlike BuunRod, he is not doing his business when & where he wants, it just happens! Despite him having some sensations in his feet & tail, we don't think his brain knows this. It seems the dislocated vertebrae really have caused him to be paralysed. The vet was quite blunt about Paul's prospects. He said that if we had operated on his back within 24 hours, there might have been a chance but now, it was too late. Later after much discussion on this with Karin, we felt very angry and disappointed in the medical advice we had been given on the day he was rescued.

However, Gill & her partner Al who are visiting the shelter regularly and giving healing to various residents, said that they had found Paul to be reacting more this week than previously. They promised to persevere with him and even try swimming with him. Lets hope there is some change soon.