This week: Onion, the dog with layers of problems
I am always telling hopeful young people who aspire to become veterinarians that it is a lot of hard work that does not end with university. It is actually quite hard to be completely free of work obligations, even when you are on a weekend break. It is rare for me to have a whole weekend off and on this rare occasion on a hot summer afternoon I found myself on one of the outlying islands. It was the weekend and the island was very busy and bustling with people.
One of the reasons why people prefer to live on an outlying island is there is ample space to keep pets, especially dogs.
The island was small and there was pretty much only one main path that circuits its way around the island. So it was not surprising that I literally bumped into a familiar face of a former nurse with whom I used to work.
We bantered for a while, catching up on old times. I told her that we were heading out for a nearby beach for some swimming and relaxation. As I walked up the concrete path leading to the beach we encountered a small group of villagers that were stretchering a small mixed-breed dog down the hill.
I assumed there was something wrong and that they were taking the dog to a nearby vet, so I did not think much more about it and headed determinedly for the beach. I had got as far as taking my shoes off when I heard the nurse I had bumped into yell my name. There was a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that my holiday was over and duty beckoned. It turned out the vet that worked the islands also had the weekend off and had decided to leave the countryside and head for the metropolis.
I said my goodbyes to the beach and headed for the small clinic. The dog was already on the consultation table and there was a stench of rotting meat that usually announces the presence of an injury at least a few days old and heavily infected. Another nurse had shaved the wounded area clean and started disinfecting it. I examined what looked like a puncture wound in the dog's left flank. It was most certainly a few days old and was maggot infested. In the wound there were the maggots of the screw-worm fly. These flies lay eggs in wounds and once the eggs hatch the larvae start feeding on its living host, burrowing into its body. It looked pretty bad. After some initial pain relief and antibiotics I started the dog on an intravenous saline drip and took some blood.