I am sorry for the spotty posting this week. I am not doing well off the Orencia…more on that on Wednesday.

The following post is actually my Facebook status but after I posted it I realized it could be my Misc. post for today as well…for my Facebook friends, you may already have seen this!

 

My father has been in India for over nine months for business. It killed him to be away from his dog (Saachi) for this long but a month ago, a stray dog “adopted” him. He was so thrilled. He sent EVERYONE (no joke) a picture of her with the caption “Look at my new dog!” She waited for him every night and saw him off to work every morning. Unfortunately, she was not allowed in the building because she was a stray but she would sleep outside. Dad brought her food and treats and was going to get her shots and vet visits done. He even considered bringing her back to the US. Yesterday evening, some rat from the apartment complex called Animal Control. She was taken away and put down. 

 

India has more stray dogs than people (at about 30 million strays) and many of them are vicious and rabid. In 2012 there was a massive rabies epidemic in Bombay and many of the strays were killed. The dogs the clinics vaccinated were also put down because the city would not allow their re-release. Rabies is a massive problem that is not given the time, money or energy it deserves. Granted, India is a very poor and corrupt country (a whole different issue) and even though there have been many efforts to eradicate the disease they do not have the necessary resources to make a big difference.

Part of me understands why someone called Animal Control. It is assumed most if not all strays have rabies. What upsets me is for a country with such a high prevalence of the disease it has little understanding of rabies symptoms! (This also opens up an education discussion which I won’t get into). You can see a rabid dog a mile away. My father’s dog was in no way rabid. I cannot believe someone could be such an asshole to call out one sweet dog; especially when you walk out of any building and there are five waiting to bite you!

 

I am not against euthanasia, when necessary. As a vet tech, I have seen way too many cases of people holding on to their pets even when their quality of life was beyond mortifying. However, I am against putting down animals for no other reason than to get rid of them.

 

After my mother passed away, my father and I spent the rest of the summer in India. I still remember telling my father “after vet school, I want to come back to India and run a free clinic for the families who cannot afford decent animal welfare and care for as many strays as possible”. Of course, my vet school goals changed over the years. Currently I want to work with the White Bengal Tigers, in India, but maybe I should re-visit this first idea. If I can physically get through vet school I will re-consider this goal. It will take more than one person to make a difference but maybe I can help in the effort…

 

Hi, my name is Monica and I have RA.