M F AHMAD
Daltonganj, Nov 29: Palamu has recorded a sudden rise in cases of canine distemper and in some cases casualties of the pet dogs here.
Touring veterinary officer Dr Alok Kumar, who is the head of the Pet Clinic of the Government of Jharkhand here in Daltonganj said, “Canine distemper is taking a good toll on the pet dogs. We are getting nearly half a dozen cases every day which was very few in a week or so in the past.”
The symptoms of canine distemper include watery to pus-like discharge from the eyes, fever, nasal discharge, fever, coughing, loss of appetite, and lethargy among others.
“Some cases of canine distemper recover while many succumb to it. It is on the rise here in Daltonganj,” Dr Alok reiterated.
He held poor, inadequate and insufficient inoculation responsible for the onset of the canine distemper and some deaths of the pet dogs here. He said dog owners just go for anti-rabies but forget 7 in 1 shot which can help save the life of the dogs from canine distemper, hepatitis, coronaviral enteric, para influenza, leptospirosis and parvovirus.
On being asked why pet dogs are left unimmunised, Kumar said “Dog owners love to flaunt their dogs but hardly care about their health. Anti rabies shots come for free and so they go for it without delay but for 7-in-1 shots Rs 1,000 to 1,500 go out of their pocket so they refuse for it.”
“One should take a lesson from the CRPF here which has a good number of Belgium Shepherd and Labrador. These breeds are well taken care of by them. They never miss their inoculation.”
134 Bn CRPF is based in Daltonganj and it has its strategic deployment around half a dozen Naxal-sensitive locations in this left-wing extremist hit Palamu.
“Belgium Shepherd and Labrador are dogs with very thin hair. The CRPF takes them out in the jungles and had these two were hairy ones than in the jungles maggots and other insects could have made their houses in the hair of these dogs harming them later on,” the vet doctor said.
“Back home, pet dog owners love hairy dogs finding it cushy because of enormous hair. However, they are so cruel to wash their dogs with detergent soap or powder and that harms them. The owners even try their shampoo little realising that they are also too to the skin of the dogs. They should be using dog soaps and shampoos instead,” he added.
Karan, a young man in Daltonganj who is known as the friend of a dog in distress, said: “We appeal to people to keep dogs but not for making it die a premature death. Treat your pet as a family member and do not abandon them if they are not left with the lung power to bark.”
“Get everyone to immunise their pet dogs. This will be their true love for the pet animals,” Dr Alok Kumar Singh appealed.
