A few hours ago, Janice called from Penang saying Brownie had been diagnosed as having distemper. Hence, the nasal discharge and the bloody poo. She needed advice on what to do. I asked if Brownie had gone to the twitching stage, and Janice said no.
Of course, I offered whatever information I had, based on what I know and have experienced. We have nursed Sean and Tara out of distemper, both are adopted and doing well. We lost Wendy, but we gave her palliative care until she passed on peacefully.
When a few people were pressuring me to have Wendy euthanised, Wani told me over at MDDB's halfway house, they have successfully nursed quite a number of distemper cases and she believes in using chicken essence, high doses of vitamins, supplements and symptomatic treatment.
We also have the case of BoyBoy, distemper case, nursed back to health by Beh Yen Phin, who had a determination as strong as ever.
But Janice could not find a fosterer for Brownie. And worse of all, the vet was pressuring her to make a decision within five minutes. I was really so sad to hear this - why and how could a vet do this? It is a matter of life and death. How could one be pressured to give an answer within five minutes? I told Janice she had every right to take Brownie away from the vet and consider all her options calmly. I could also blog for fosterers for her.
But Janice was really at a loss. She really could not find a fosterer in Penang. Huey said it was next to impossible too. The community in Penang is much smaller than ours over here in the Klang Valley.
Minutes ago, Janice wrote to say she had had to make the painful decision of having Brownie euthanised.
Here's Janice's sharing, reproduced with her permission:
Dr Chan,
Im sad to say that Brownie had been put to sleep. Its the hardest decision that i've made.. Its unbelievable tht i need to make decision in such a short period of time for a life n death matter. The vet doesn't allow Brownie to be warded there and don't even want to take her in to the kennel area while i find a better solution. Things would be different if we were in KL. Its juz not fair for Brownie and me. She's juz a 4 mths old pup... I took care of them on the day they were born... There were 6 of them all together... i onli managed to get 4 of them adopted... Brownie would greet me every morning when i come to work... She will wait for me to feed her every evening... She will sleep at my office corridor to wait for me and will turn around and ask for a belly rub... She was a beautiful, cheerful and fat baby gal... I hope and pray tht she will be in a better place, free from all the suffering right now.. Thanks a lot for your advice n help during my hopeless time.. Lastly, i wish to share a few of Brownie pics...
Janice Ng
We truly empathise with Janice, and we wish Brownie a good rebirth. Rainbow Bridge, Heaven or another realm, we'd like to believe that Brownie is in a better place now.
Personally, I'm truly sad the vet pressured Janice into making a decision within 5 minutes. Sigh...
Updates on Tuesday, 12.09am - Apparently, Huey found out that it wasn't the vet who pressured Janice into making the decision in 5 minutes. It was due to other circumstances. You can get a clearer picture by reading Huey's comments in this post.
Brownie's suffering is now over, but Janice would need time and lots of moral support to recover. Let's stay with Janice, give her the moral support that she needs, and help her overcome her grief.
I remember the time I lost Kimba in a car accident - it was so sudden and shocking I went into denial for weeks, and depression later on. My friend in Singapore shared these words of wisdom which I found helpful (because it was totally true). He said: Kimba's suffering is over, but yours is not because you cannot let it go. His words were like a lightning bolt hitting me because that was precisely the truth. The deceased's suffering is already over, but we hold on to that suffering (images, visions and imagination) and we suffer as a result of it. Here's where wisdom helps in overcoming grief. But do we have the wisdom to let go? We cannot let go, until we are ready to do so. So, until that happens, here's where friends can help.
Kindly post constructive and helpful comments.
There is no known allopathic treatment for distemper. To protect dogs from this deadly and dreadful disease, vaccination is strongly encouraged. If you are looking after street dogs (especially puppies), please get them vaccinated. We subsidise RM20 per vaccination for the first year.
While there is a very strong school of thought that does not believe in vaccination and it justifies why, we have to look at the circumstances and environment the animal dwells in. Yes, the vaccine is toxic and can cause harm, but so can diseases like distemper, parvo virus, flu and a host of other deadly diseases. Between the devil and the deep blue sea, we need to weigh the pros and cons and do what we feel is best. For pets in a protected home environment, it is a different story altogether.
I had Bobby vaccinated for the first few years until I found out about the dangers of vaccination. Then, I reduced it to once in three years. Now, Bobby is not vaccinated anymore. He is already 15. I stopped the vaccinations when he was 11.
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