Okay so quite clearly we did rescue a puppy this morning, but don't get too attached, the story doesn't end too well...let me start from the beginning.
Salvador's aunt was driving along when she spotted a man with a puppy in arms, clearly hawking it to whoever stopped at the intersection. She decided to contact Animal Welfare who was understaffed and therefor could not send out an inspector. She came to pick me up and we managed to get the dog from it's sad owner (who was telling us he couldn't afford to take care of the dog anymore etc. I personally think this was just a scam for various reasons that I will not go into). She arranged for us to take it into Animal Welfare to have it checked out. I didn't want to introduce it to Salvador if it was carrying weird viruses!
We arrived at Animal Welfare and filled out the necessary forms, only to be sent away because we don't fall under the right salary bracket, so we decided to make an appointment at our regular vet instead.
We named the puppy Blue, as he had the most amazing blue eyes and upon closer inspection at home it was quite clear that this guy was severely malnourished and skinny - WARNING SIGN #1 although strangely he wasn't too keen on the food I gave him - WARNING SIGN #2.
Eventually it was time to go to the vet. We got there and the first thing they did was test Blue for Distemper and unfortunately it turned out that Blue did indeed carry this rather shocking virus. At first I thought, oh well, I'm sure we can get that sorted out with a shot, but it was not until they started sending cleaners through the whole practice with sprays and chemicals that I got worried... My boyfriend Googled the disease, but it was the look on the vet nurse's face and the call for the euthanizing liquid that really made it ring home...there was NOTHING we could do for Blue...
I didn't know anything about this disease before today, apart from reading the name on Salvador's vaccination certificate, but I've never come into such close contact with it, so I thought I would enlighten all of you on the subject of this very scary disease.
It is a virus similar to Measles and it affects the gastrointestinal, respiratory system and central nervous system of dogs, rats and ferrets to mention a few.
Symptoms include vomiting, coughing, thick mucus from the nose and eyes, anorexia, lethargy and the list goes on.
Puppies in general and especially puppies that come from moms that have not been vaccinated against it plus adult dogs that have not been vaccinated are at risk and it spreads rapidly through close contact with a contaminated dog, through sharing of bowls etc.
THERE IS CURRENTLY NO KNOWN CURE FOR THE DISEASE thus prevention is key. According to the vet at Cape Animal Medical Centre , some dogs can 'recover' from the disease, but medicating a dog with Distemper is expensive, as they have weak immune systems for life and are therefor susceptible to all kinds of other viruses too. One also runs the risk of your dog spreading the virus to other dogs as they never totally get the virus out of their systems. Were we to keep Blue, he would have started getting seizures 2-3 weeks in and often the symptoms start showing in old age.
So there you go...what an eventful day. I'm sad it didn't turn out better, but it did make me rush Salvador to the vet to get all his shots up to date and I hope that this story taught us all a lesson or 10!
- Never buy a puppy from someone on the street or from any shop or person that is not a reputable dog owner/breeder or animal welfare. If for whatever reason you do so, get it checked IMMEDIATELY and do not let it come into your house or get close to your other pets until you've done so!!!!!
- Get your puppy vaccinated as soon as possible - call your vet and arrange it when you get your puppy or make sure whoever you get it from has done so and demand to see vet certificates.
- Keep your dogs' vaccinations up to date. Dogs over 2 years should go to the vet once a year to have a check-up. If you can't afford to do this for whatever reason, go to an Animal Welfare organization that will help you for much less or in some cases for free.
- You don't have to be rich to own a pet! Not getting your dog vaccinated is stupid and ignorant. I'm not going to go on a rant about how you shouldn't get a pet if you can't provide it with posh healthcare. People are going to have pets. This is why there are places like Animal Welfare.
Rather be safe than sorry!
Rest in Peace Blue - We are glad that your last few hours were happy-sitting-in-a-warm-lap-bathing-in-the-sun hours!
Licks & Kisses ( although with all the viruses going around....)
xxx
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