Asiahomes Internet educational stories for pet lovers, sponsored by  AsiaHomes Internet  

The coughing Silkie puppy needs a mandatory vaccination before sale

His left nostril always had a thick creamy yellow discharge every morning for the past three weeks. His upper and lower eyelids were glued by the same sticky secretions such that he could barely see the world.

He hunched his back, extended his neck and gave a short dry cough every few minutes. "Hay, hay, hay, hay," the three-month old Silkie would seem to be trying to throw up something from his throat. Invariably, nothing was coughed out. 

"How long has the Silkie been coughing and was he vaccinated?" I asked Mr Cheng, a dog breeder.  

"Three weeks," he said. "He was given the first vaccination at two months of age."

"Was the cough and the upper respiratory tract infection caused by the vaccination?" 

"No," Mr Cheng replied. "He was coughing before the vaccination." 

Why was he vaccinated by the veterinarian if he was coughing? Vets will never vaccinate a sick puppy.  

Breeders all over the world do treat their dogs themselves to contain costs and to sustain the profitability of their business. It was possible that the puppy was vaccinated by this breeder. He could get the vaccine from a veterinarian who dispensed vaccines to breeders or a sales person. I did not probe further.

"Is the puppy on antibiotics?" I asked. "And kept in away from other dogs in the kennels?" 

Mr Cheng had seen another veterinarian for this problem and had been prescribed two bottles of liquid medication which he had been giving for the puppy for the past two weeks. Yet, the puppy continued to cough and to have runny nose and eyes.

He went inside his kennels and took out the medicine. They were not antibiotics. He had no time to see the veterinarian again as the practice was not nearby.  It was not practical for him to quarantine the sick puppy as there were no separate facilities in the kennels. 

Veterinary costs do add up when a puppy is sickly for so long and the breeder might not want to consult veterinarians repeatedly. This Silkie puppy was not so attractive. He had a balding pate, with very few hairs on the crown of his head.  He would be worth less than half of what a Silkie would sell and the veterinary bills would have taken up thirty percentage of the sales price estimated at five hundred dollars.  This would be the reason for not seeking veterinary consultation but since I was around the neighbourhood, advices are free.

The Silkie was put outside the kennels to get some fresh air. He started to hack again. He put out his tongue to wipe off the sticky nasal discharge as the child would use his hands to wipe off his nasal secretions.  
 
What was the most economical solution for this breeder? The puppy needed to be away from other dogs and given fresh air, multivitamins and antibiotics to recover. 

"He has lost appetite for the past two days," Mr Cheng said. This was not good as normal puppies are usually very hungry. The pain in his throat must be tremendous and he could not tolerate anymore as more bacteria multiplied to overwhelm his immune system. The right nostril always had a copious creamy discharge every morning. 

Medication to stop the continual coughing without causing him to be drowsy and lose appetite. A space to have sufficient rest and vitamins so that his body system could recover.

A course of the appropriate antibiotics for at least three days would eliminate the bacterial infection. This was an upper respiratory tract infection which could cure the puppy. The total costs would have been higher than the value of this puppy.

Is money everything in this world? Can money buy a new lease of life for this Silkie?  His health would deteriorate and he would just die of broncho-pneunomia, a condition where the lung is full of pus.  From observation, I would say his right lung already had lots of pus as he had large amounts of pus every morning. During the day, he would have licked off the pus. 

This was the breeder's problem. Should I walk away? Yet, this puppy had a high probability of becoming healthy once again if treated promptly.

The sun shone brightly and reflected off the concrete flooring of the kennels on this Sunday. A Singaporean family of a couple with two small children and grandparent came to check out the Jack Russell puppies for sale. "What are these puppies?" the man asked the breeder.  

Somehow the breeder was not in the mood to sell or he had qualified that the family was not merely spectators getting to know more about canine breeds. He was not going to teach the public. 

"You should get this one-eyed Jack," I tried to hassle the prospective buyer to buy a puppy with a large brown patch on his right eye. "It is uncommon. His eye patch was popularised by the Jack Russell called Milo in "The Mask" movie.  It has just been vaccinated today and you can bring it home right now!" 

"No," the breeder interceded. "The AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority) would allow the puppy to be sold to the public only one week after vaccination." 

This must be a recent ruling for breeders. The prospective buyer was not impressed with one-eyed Jack Russells nor had he heard of The Mask, Milo or the funny movie actor Jim Carrey. Or I was a poor sales person talking to a Chinese-educated prospect. He left. 

Now, I know why the Silkie was vaccinated although it was coughing. The AVA requires two mandatory vaccinations to ensure that the members of the public get to buy healthy puppies. To the breeder, the earlier the vaccinations are completed, the earlier he can sell. There would have to be evidence of the dog vaccination from the veterinarian performing the vaccination.  He was taking the chance that the unwell Silkie puppy would not get worse after vaccination.   

It was a costly mistake as he could not sell the puppy now and it would cost him more in veterinary cost. He was not willing to incur more costs.

The puppy looked well but he was not eating much and not so active. The best solution would be to treat the puppy and let him recover. I told the breeder I would bring it back to my surgery to treat it. "Will you be bringing it home to treat?" he enquired. "No," I said. "He would be treated at the surgery's quarantine kennel. It would be easier to monitor his health and the effect of antibiotics." His perception was similar to that of other breeders. The veterinary surgery must be a place full of sick dogs and cats.  

"There are no sick patients there now," I assured him. "I don't have many sick cases needing to be warded."

		Sticky nose and eye discharge
Fever. Above 38.5 deg Celsius	Sticky eye discharge	Sticky eye discharge
Antibiotic and anti-fever injections given	Puppy eats and drinks	New feed added. Puppy is now more active.

Mr Joseph Goh said, "If the puppy recovered, you sell it above five hundred dollars and keep the difference." 

The puppy had an excellent appetite when he was given medication to reduce the pain in his throat and to improve his breathing. No cough medicine was given to him initially but his hacking cough did not reduce in frequency. He could not stay in an air conditioned room as he would cough. Soon, his thick eye and nose discharge vanished after three days of antibiotic injections. He started barking for attention on day six. 

A low sounding short bark of a puppy much appreciated by anyone who had seen him coughing all the time.  His throat and voice box were back to normal, I thought. Thanks to modern drugs.  He was ready to return go back to the breeder! 

The next day, his nose and eyes filled with yellowish sticky discharge. His hacking cough returned as he strained to clear his throat.  Nothing would be coughed up.

He would need at least 30 days of treatment and care. The veterinary costs would exceed the value of this gentle puppy. Mr Joseph Goh would not wish to pay as he needed to cut costs as the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) virus in Singapore had suddenly reduced the number of people wanting to buy puppies at this time. Many Singaporean families were afraid of going to crowded places, except for the teenagers. 

What should I do with this puppy? He was not my problem.

Yet, if I were to abandon him to Mr Joseph Goh, it was effectively a death sentence. He would develop a very large heart as his coughing puts pressure on the heart which would then fail to beat anymore. The sticky pus forming bacteria germs would multiply a few millions and kill him before he had a chance to build up his immunity. He needed the time to grow up. Drugs to suppress the cough. Multivitamins, fresh air and good nutrition to boost his health.

Most puppies with kennel cough recover within 14 days. This Silkie took over 40 days but there are such cases documented in veterinary medicine. 

The Silkie could now bark normally. His eye discharge took a very long time to disappear despite being given antibiotic eye ointments for two weeks. It seemed that the bacteria germs were hiding deep inside his nasal sinuses or tear duct. He was on antibiotics for over three weeks.  

Now, there is another problem. Singaporeans want to buy a younger puppy. He is now not as "cute" as a 3-month-old, but he is stronger. Email judy@asiahomes.com if you wish to buy this Silkie for $500.  


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Revised: May 02, 2003   · Asiahomes Internet


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