THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sudheer Kumar V G and family cheerfully watch Leo, an eight-year-old cross-bred dog, as he jumps and runs around their house in Peroorkada. Just five months ago, he came down with severe tick fever and the family almost lost him. His spleen became enlarged and he experienced difficulty in breathing. The family was worried as they had just lost Lexie, a female rottweiler, a year ago.
“The vets at District Veterinary Centre, especially doctors Darshana and Soya, were quick to diagnose the disease and start treatment. I got my Leo back because of them,” said Sudheer. Leo underwent two months of treatment before recovering completely. Lexie though, was not so lucky despite the family having spent a lot of money at different hospitals and even bringing an expert veterinarian from Chennai to treat her.
Julie the pomeranian
Usha and her daughter Manju found Julie, a 11-year-old pomeranian, at Pravachambalam. The dog was diagnosed with mammary abscesses in a putrefied condition in June. “People near my house wanted her to be killed as there was no hope of survival. But two months of treatment, including a surgery, cured my dog,” said Usha. She has two more dogs besides Julie. “Even though there is a government veterinary centre at Pravachambalam, I take my dogs to DVC for vaccination,” she said. The District Veterinary Centre, a referral hospital, gets several complicated cases, including cancer, leptospirosis, paro-viral enteritis, tick fever, kidney failure and uterus infection.
Story of Puby
Not everybody is happy with DVC though. Anil Kumar, of Kaithamukku, blames carelessness of staff that led to the death of Puby, his three-year-old dachshund, on July 27. The canine was suffering from maggot infestation in its ear and died of choking while a staff member was cleaning the wound. Anil Kumar blames the staff of DVC for using a rope instead of a muzzle, while the staff blames Anil for holding the leash tightly. “It is a standard practice to use a polythene tube as muzzle and it will not cause any harm to the dog. The staff even warned the owner against using excessive force in holding the leash,” said Dr Jain, CVO of DVC.
