euthanisation – Pawjourr | Blog contributors

Hi guys, in case you don’t know yet, my name is Kiki. This name was given to me by my first family and my pawrents just continued to use it.

In Feburary 2018, at 3 months old, I was brought home by my first family. They were so excited to have me and so was I to have them. However as days go by, things spiraled out of control.

Being in a family with 3 small children (4 if you consider me as a small puppy as well), my then pawrents did not have the capacity to care for me adequately and I soon fell into the arms of the devils.

I got myself some sort of a skin irritation where I constantly scratches and bite myself. I was constantly itchy and in pain. However, as I was the first puppy the family ever had, they did not know how to deal with me.

Pawdad sent me to the vet several times and was diagnosed with skin allergy. They suspected that it could be due to food, but despite changing my diet and eliminating via food type, they could not find the root cause.

It just kept going on and on and months flew by. At my very worst, I was almost bald and bloody due to the constant scratching and biting (I really can’t help it) and to protect my siblings, pawdad asked his friends to foster me temporarily.

This was the start of my journey of moving house to house. I was sent away by countless “fosterers” as they could not deal with my constant scratching (and disgusting smell). I am also always locked in my cage almost 24hours a day as they were afraid of me dirtying their places. I was at a very sad place. It was until July 2018 that pawdad reached out to my current pawrents to seek help as a last resort.

He had scheduled me to be euthanised 2 days later, but has no place to temporary put me up at. My mummy had questions about me but agreed to put me up for 2 nights.

When pawdad brought me over to mummy and daddy’s house late at night, he told mummy that I had severe skin allergy and the vet recommended to be euthanise as I will not have quality of life. He felt sad about it but this is what he had to do. He left after saying goodbye to me.

After closing the door, mummy opened my gate. It was the first time the gate has been opened for godknows how many days or weeks. I climbed out of the cage… Despite all the pains and itches, I made my way to mummy’s lap and asked for a belly rub.

Mummy gave me a good belly rub and looked at daddy saying how pitiful I was (no doubt, I was so raw then). Daddy suggested that we should not give up on me and that he would make an appointment tomorrow with his friend’s vet and get a second opinion. Mummy agreed. Little did they know, it was this decision that saved my life.

The next day, daddy got home from work and brought me to the new vet. The vet saw me and immediately got down to business. He took tests and did everything he needed to do. He even gave me a huge slab of salmon from his stash for dinner as he said I was so severely underweight for my age (7 months).

It turned out… The results showed that I was suffering from a very severe form of chronic scabies that the bugs were eating me alive inside and outside. Luckily though, I was diagnosed in time, if we were to wait any further, I would not have made it out alive.

This event turned everything upside down. Mummy contacted pawdad to inform the results and pawdad was shocked. He could not believe his ears and asked if mummy could keep and restore me back to health. He would be willing to pay for all the medical bills for my condition until I got better.

Mummy and daddy discussed and agreed to give me a second chance in life.

I got home, looking like this….

Being also a first time dog owner, my new pawrents did not know what to do, much less prepare for my arrival.

But mummy being in the healthcare industry knows fairly well how contagious scabies is and quickly build me a playpen using Daiso metal grids to temporary keep me at a corner of the house (but this is definitely bigger than my cage which I’ve been living in it for many weeks!)

I was on medications 3x a day and showering every 3 days for 2 whole months. As both mummy and daddy are working, mummy engaged the help of her 3 good friends (AKA my 3 godmas now) for rotational help. The 4 of them took turn caring for me 24hours around the clock. Making sure I was fed well, had my medication and showers, and had lots of love and care. They almost could not leave me alone at home as I would start biting or scratching the moment I got nothing to do. In addition to all the special attention I needed, daddy assist in keeping the house scrubbed and cleaned well. He mop the floor and wipe everything I touched EVERY SINGLE DAY.

For the first time in many days and weeks, I finally slept well.

Slowly but surely, my skin started to recover. Instead of being like a skinless roast duck, I became a pink chicken and my fur started to grow out.

Look at me, being all cozy on mummy’s lap

As my condition slowly got better, I also became a vacuum cleaner during park walks (mummy ever had to pick out a chicken bone from my mouth) and learnt to climb stairs!

From taking each step gingerly….

To hopping like a kangaroo!

Everyone was very amazed at my recovery and I was so active by then! With due care and diligence from pawrents and godmas, I was on a roll. I became the puppy I should be.

Pawdad saw my miraculous recovery and after discussion with mummy, they decided to transfer my name under mummy’s name to make me officially adopted by my pawrents!

I could not be happier and pawrents were elated to have me part of their family. I mean, I am already their family since the night I got there, didn’t I? Hahaha!

Everyday, I create new problems and challenges to my pawrents which made them scratch their heads (see the pun?) and try to outwit me each time. (Soon after, mummy started me on command training to tire that clever brain of mine).

It took 1 month for the Chronic Scabies to be cleared and close to 3-4 months before my fur are fully grown out!

Take a Look!

In Nov 2018, I celebrated my first birthday!

I wouldn’t have made it to my first birthday (or even third this year!) without my pawrents’ decision to bring me for a second opinion. I would not have escape that needle of death. So I’m forever thankful for their kindness.

Lastly I got to say, even though pawdad and family did me unjust, I forgave them and I still love them. Till date, whenever I see my pawdad and family, I am always very happy to give them hugs and kisses! I knew that although they may not have given me the best care, they had made the right decision to let my current pawrents adopt me. For that, I am forever grateful.

Today, I am happy and I hope you are too!

Signing off,

Kiki, your favorite MP

I’ve had the privilege to raise 7 dogs since I was 12. I came from a family and extended family of dog lovers and grew up with medium to large dogs. Singapore was a lot more carefree then and there weren’t restrictions on the number of dogs a family could have even in HDB dwellings. There weren’t such a thing as HDB approved list either.

Left to Right : Dulcey and Honey, West Highland White Terriers

Euthanization seems to be such a taboo topic these days that it can divide the dog community. Today, we see so many ‘no kill’ shelters even right here in Singapore. While I do agree that we have to euthanise responsibly, this is where the line is very thin and it’s so easy to place judgement.

The Tough Decision

The first time I ever encountered euthanization was when I was 14-15years old. My Westie, Honey, at that time was suffering from very bad skin ailments. No amount of medication worked and diets didn’t help. Her skin was perpetually raw every day. This was the 80s, so animal care wasn’t really as advanced as today.

She wasn’t fed kibble. She was fed freshly cooked food and honestly, our food wasn’t contaminated with much hormones then. After countless vet visits and treatments, my father sat me down to have the most dreaded discussion – euthanise the dog.

I was very much like all the anti-euthanization activists and I shut my Dad down before he could even begin a conversation with me. One night, he gently told me that part of raising a dog is to be responsible for its well being. That includes the dog’s physical, mental and emotional health. Instead of telling me all the logic of why we should euthanise our beloved family member, he asked me TWO questions – Why am I fighting for my dog’s life? Was it really for her benefit or was it for my selfish reasons? Before he left to say goodnight, he told me that love isn’t self-centered. Love is about always considering the needs of the other before mine. And that’s why love is the greatest. It’s about sacrifice.

That conversation jolted me and I started to examine the condition of my heart. I didn’t want my dog to be put to sleep because of my selfish reasons. All the reasons were because of my needs and not hers. It took me five days to find courage and I went to my parents to say I was ready to do what I needed to do.

To put the icing on the cake, my parents told me they were going to hire a pet taxi for me and I was going to our vet by myself. Honey was my dog and as her leader and primary handler, I had to go and do this. And, this was what I needed to learn if I ever wanted to keep raising dogs. I was horrified but I said okay.

When I got to our vet, he was really nice, he walked me through the whole procedure and told me to let him know when I’d be ready to go through with it. On the steel table that day, I felt the life of my dog whom I raised from 8 weeks old drain away. I saw all the times we trained, we participated in conformation shows, bred her, helped her delivered her puppies, raised her puppies and finally to the place where I brought her to die.

Growth

That day taught me the most painful and valuable lesson of dog ownership. It taught me to seize the day. It taught me to never have a bucket list with my dog. It was the first time I ever put aside my needs for my dog. It was the very first time in my life that I put her needs before mine. I was so ashamed that I placed me before her in all the years that I was her handler. Yet, she was loyal and devoted to the end.

Honey, my first West Highland White Terrier that I raised as a puppy to adulthood taught me about leadership and what the phrase “Leaders Eat Last” meant because even with her life draining out from her never once judged me for being selfish.

I took her body back home and buried her in my uncle’s garden. It was the day I grew up. It was the day I stopped having ideals and learnt the painful decisions that every dog owner may have to face one day. It was also the day I understood what real Love is about. Love isn’t about me.

In her tribute, I seek to be a better dog handler with every dog that I raised after her. Thirty years on, I am still doing so.