For healthy Ramadan, eat more of fruits

The key to long life in pets is to provide them with a healthy lifestyle and thinking about their well-being in the same way you would think of a family member’s. We must ensure that we continually improve our commitment with regards to their health. This begins with making a conscious effort in ensuring that we see and evaluate their living conditions daily or, at most, every other day.

I recall an experience which a client shared with me. He told me that prior to making a three-week trip, he had stocked his house with pet food and other supplies that was estimated to last for about for about six weeks. When he came back from his trip three weeks later, he saw his dogs looking emaciated. When he queried his guard about why they were looking emaciated, the security man replied him in pidgin language, saying “Oga their food don finish. I never feed them for one week now.” Can you imagine! This is a real life story not a fiction.

This is one of the reasons why I implore owners to be actively involved in the supervision of the welfare of their pets. Ensure you oversee all activities delegated.

If your pet spends most of its time outside the house, it is extremely important that you develop a habit of ensuring that its housing unit at is cleaned and properly disinfected at least twice a day, preferably in the morning and evening. A little bleach in the water that will be used in cleaning can also be of great benefit because bleach contains sodium hypochlorite — a compound that has antiviral properties. You should also ensure that the food and water bowls are washed and disinfected daily.

In addition, please ensure that all naked wires are put beyond the reach of your pets, or removed from your premises. Particular caution should be taken viz a viz naked wires from air conditioning systems, and security lamps or sockets around the house because the curiosity of pets easily makes them victims of electrical shock. If the insulation of a wire is punctured and the teeth come in contact with live wires, your pet will receive a shock. Electrical current may cause muscle contractions that make the jaws of your pet to clamp down harder, and prevent it from releasing the cables.

I recall an incident that occurred a couple of years ago. On that day, my generator was on and I was in my living room watching the television. Suddenly, I noticed an electric surge. Immediately I opened the door, I noticed my pit bull puppy was lying flat on the ground with her mouth clenched on a cable that was connected to the generator.

I ran towards her and detached the electric cable linking the generator to the house. As soon as I took that action, my puppy seemed to be released from a ‘spell’. She stood up and ran away, looking very frightened.

If your pet still has the electrical cord in its mouth, please do not touch the pet immediately, because the current may still be present and may electrocute you.

The first step is to turn off the power supply, if possible. This may involve switching off the socket at the wall or turning off the mains supply to the entire area. You may also break the contact between your pet and the live current by using a wooden or plastic pole, but definitely not metal. Be extremely careful if the area is wet, as this will also conduct electricity; do not approach your pet if it is lying in a puddle. If you don’t know how to shut off the main electrical supply, find rubber gloves and wear them to pull out the plug from the wall.

In conclusion, due to the epileptic power supply experienced in most localities, there is an ever growing demand for the use of generators. In fact, I dare say that the generators in our country today, consumes more fuel that all the cars and motor bikes put together.

I have also discovered that in most residential areas, the generators and dog kennels are usually located behind or beside the house in close proximity to each other. This has resulted either in the deaths, ill health or unthriftiness of a lot of pets.

The warning signs of carbon monoxide in your pets include drowsiness, lethargy, weakness in coordination, bright red colour to skin and gums, dyspnoea (trouble breathing), coma, abrupt death and, occasionally, chronic (low-grade, long-term) exposure may cause exercise intolerance, changes in gait (walking) and disturbances of normal reflexes.

If your pet displays any symptoms of carbon monoxide toxicity, please consult your veterinary doctor immediately.

A stitch in time saves nine. Please be very proactive on issues that concern your pet’s health. Try to spend more time with your pet so that you can be used to what its good health state is. If you do this, it will be very easy to detect changes when things go wrong.