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Educational tips for pet
lovers The
Cavalier King Charles coughs like an old man
"The
pet dealer sold me a sick puppy," Mr Tan said as he
placed a puppy with an appealing face with two
large, dark and round eyes set well apart on the
examination table.
The 3-month-old Australian-imported, tricoloured Cavalier
King Charles Spaniel had runny nose and eyes. Mr Tan
had complained that it coughed frequently although it was
not coughing now.
"I want my one thousand dollars back and if he does
not give me my money, I will stand outside his shop and
tell everybody about his scam. I will report him to the
journalist at the tabloid and get him exposed....
The puppy, originated from the English sporting Spaniels
and kept by the landed gentry as working gundogs, rolled
over and swiped its front paws at me, wanting to play. It
was named after King Charles II who was said to spend a
lot of time with this breed of dogs.
This puppy was Imported from Australia less than 7 days
ago.
It had a sore throat, a light yellow nose discharge and a
slight fever.
"It has an upper respiratory infection," I said.
"There is no coughing." Mr Tan was sure it
was coughing. As if to prove he was right, the puppy gave
one low rumbling cough, more like expelling gas from the
stomach. The stomach contracted and there was the
sole cough.
A few of the
imported puppies at pet shops will be coughing after being
sold. They are not yet used to Singapore's environment,
climate and may be affected by the viruses in the pet
shop.
However, in talking to the pet dealer, this particular
batch was already coughing when it arrived and therefore
were infected in Australia. It had been vaccinated
against the major dog diseases in Australia and should be
recovering in two or three weeks.
The puppies are so cute that the children, usually
pre-teens want them home immediately and will play with
the puppy for long hours. This coughing puppy was warded
at the veterinary clinic and went to bed early, at 8
p.m. Complete rest in a quiet environment will
ensure early recovery from the upper respiratory tract
infection.
It refused to eat pellets soaked for 10 minutes in
water as recommended by the Pet Dealer. Had it lost its
appetite? Was it getting worse in health? It was
given antibiotics and dextrose saline to prevent low blood
sugar levels in the blood as this might lead to fainting.
The
puppy feed pellets smelt nice. Maybe it just disliked the
wet stuff. I place a bowl of dry pellet. It hungrily
enjoyed crunching them.
It then drank water and wanted to play after eating and
drinking. Mr Tan wanted the puppy back after one day
at the clinic and then complained it was still coughing
even with antibiotics. He expected immediate
cure. It took two weeks before the puppy recovered
fully from the upper respiratory infection.
