AUGUST 10 — In a world as polarized as ours, our pet animals are one of the few things we care for unconditionally.
The label “animal lover” is virtually a guarantee of social approval.
And yet there are animal lovers who treat their pets in a manner one can only describe as less than fully loving.
No, I’m not talking about those animals who left their puppies on the road to die (and that joker who ran over his dog after chucking it out the car).
I’m referring to the many pet owners who refuse to take their cats and dogs to a vet despite Bella and Milo looking the worse for wear.
The concerns about over-medication notwithstanding, such folks bring to mind macho fellas for whom using an umbrella is a Satanic activity to be rejected in favour of walking into a thunderstorm with one’s hands as the only cover.
I spoke to someone in my apartment block who’s a long-time cat-whisperer, having rescued and sheltered dozens of furry friends over the past few years.
He told me that some people will put their kittens and puppies in six-star pet hotels each time they travel but — remarkably — will think twice thrice twenty times about bringing Rex to see a vet if the doggy looks unwell.
Such contradictory folks prefer instead to wait and see or, worse, get on Facebook to ask “influencers” for animal medical advice. It’s like bringing their sick pets to the vet is virtually the last resort.
No, neither of us gets any commission from any veterinarian clinic. But may we be so bold as to come right out and declare that such hesitations to visit the vet when you have a physically unwell animal in your care borders on the irresponsible?
Because the fact is that sick animals can become a public concern.
The mess, (lack of) hygiene, noise, dirt, etc. extend beyond just one household.
The overly dramatic listing of bullet points below seeks to make one point and nothing more:
Is your pet in pain? Take it to the vet.
Is your pet injured? Take it to the vet.
Is your pet showing symptoms of some kind? Take it to the vet.
Has your pet stopped eating? Take it to the vet.
Is your pet not drinking water? Take it to the vet.
Is your pet not defecating like it is supposed to? Take it to the vet.
Essentially, if your pets are sick…
Take.
Them.
To.
The.
Vet.
The longer you wait, the more your pet suffers. Stop procrastinating. Stop waiting. Stop leaving the animal you claim to “love” in pain or discomfort.
The alternative is to leave your pet in unnecessary levels of agony and just hope it gets better in a few days.
Fair enough, Leo probably will recover from that bout of diarrhoea but it makes you sort of wonder if this is how an animal lover should treat his/her object of love.
A child lover will not leave a 10-month-old s***ting in his/her diapers without taking the child to a doctor, thus why an animal — over would do the same to Si Manja is a cosmic mystery no celestial being can solve.
Sure, it’s possible some pet owners are trying to obtain the expert opinions of veterinarians via Facebook. Totally apart from how many animal doctors are regularly on Facebook dishing out free advice, would any one of us prolong the suffering of their children/parents/siblings by trying to get free medical advice online instead of actually taking them to the clinic?
There are at least two things your pet will receive that it won’t get if you try to get advice on social media: a) a physical examination and b) medicine.
Everybody knows this, of course. But, not unlike anti-vaxxers and flat-earthers, perhaps some pet owners don’t like to be bothered with facts and sound advice?
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
