Orange City Animal Lovers

As a vet, people often ask me for advice about adopting a pet. I ask them just three questions.  Does the lady of the house love dogs/cats/hamsters/rabbits/guinea pigs etc? A pet is for life. Are they willing to make a commitment to take care of their pet for the rest of its life, in sickness and in health? Are they willing to spend time and effort to understand their pet, their needs, their food habits, their temperament and adjust to it? If the answer to even one of the above questions is 'No', then the family is not ready for a pet.Let me explain.  If your mother/sister/wife does not like pets, then never, ever adopt one. Hoping that she will have a change of heart, is unfair to her and to your pet. The house is the lady's nest. Whether she comes back home from a long day in office or is a homemaker, she expects her nest to look and smell a certain way. Having a pet can change that drastically. Dog/cat hair of sofa, dog urine and poop in the balcony, a pun...

I was visiting my aunt in Mumbai. She is in the Pediatrics division in a government hospital there. Every week 2-3 children are admitted in the General Ward suffering from tuberculosis. What is common is that most of these are children of the milkman, who live with cows/buffaloes and the infection travels from the infected animals to these kids. Tuberculosis in cattle is caused by a  bacteria Mycobacterium bovis. It is spread from one animal to other through inhalation. It is shed in milk, saliva,urine, droppings etc. It can remain undetected in cattle, thereby spreading to humans who live in the vicinity. Human beings get this infection by consuming raw milk or by inhalation. Pasteurization destroys these bacteria in milk. In UK, tuberculosis caused in humans due to animals (zoonotic origin) was once a leading cause of death in humans. The government launched a scheme to eradicate this disease. The infected animals were culled immediately. UK has been free of tuberculosis fo...

This weekend the world celebrates love. We all have plans to shower our favorite people with all the attention they deserve, but do not necessarily get. How about our favorite animals ?  Here are five tips to make this Valentine's Day special for our four-legged friends also. 1. Get a AWBI Colony Animal Care Taker ID We all have faced harassment from the local people when we take care of the community dogs, cows and even,as in my case, a mule. This is the ID that says that Animal Welfare Board of India, Ministry of Environment and Forests has authorized you to take care of the animals in your area. The process of getting the ID is surprisingly easy. Go to the link given below and follow the instructions. Within one-two months, your ID should arrive! http://awbi.org/ http://awbi.org/?q=node/180 2. Set up water bowls for the animals. The Weather Department has forecast a particularly harsh summer this year. Get ready to take care of your animals frie...

A dog owner from my colony approached me yesterday. Her dog was behaving strangely, she said. He was not eating or drinking, was digging furiously and howling. He was also trying to attack any strangers who came to visit , though he was not aggressive around the family members.I went to her place and sure enough, the dog was also salivating. It was a classic case of rabies. Rabies is a vet's worst nightmare. There is no cure. To stop the spread of the disease, the animal has to be put down. If not, the animal dies in 15 days time but by then, they may have spread the disease through bites or their saliva. Rabies is caused by the Rabies virus. The virus is present in the saliva of the infected animal. Once the animal bites someone, the virus starts spreading in the nerves after 24 hours and travels towards the brain. It also causes the paralysis of the nerve which controls the swallowing action, hence the inability to eat or drink. That is why the disease is also called 'Hydr...