A DIPHTHERITIC DOG

CAN THERE BE 

A DIPHTHERITIC DOG?

“Hello Doc, could you come home immediately? ”

There was a call to me from a known family.

They were a recently married couple and the girl was an ardent lover of dogs.A lab pup was gifted to her by her friends.

As I had to be ready with my medical kit I just asked. “Is there any problem with our little boy?”

 “Yes Doc, we suspect, he must be suffering from Diphtheria” She said.

“What?!! Diphtheria?”  I was shocked. I was taught in my veterinary medicine that Diphtheria is a human disease and that this disease does not exist in dogs.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes Doc, there is a tissue growth inside the throat” She said again.

“Ok!  OK!!  I am coming over there “I kept the phone receiver.

 I opened my medical kit and ensured that I was carrying a torch and a  pair of long flat forceps. My mind started wondering ‘how it could be, definitely a dog can’t get this disease..let me see...’

I was there within 30 minutes. I was so eager to see my patient. I could see a totally exhausted cute little lab pup lying over the ground, with eyes sunken.

“He was continuously coughing Doctor, see the pain in his eyes, when we wanted to put some medicine we could see a membranous growth around the pharynx...” She started narrating to me, with tears falling over her cheeks.

“Don’t worry, let me see” I said and started examining  the puppy’s mouth with my torch. First I was shocked to see a membrane like growth, and then I realized the core of the problem.

I looked at the couple and said, “So you have decided not to have a baby for some time”

“Yes Doctor” both of them said together, but confused by the why I was asking the same when their doggy was so serious.

I smiled at them, opened the puppy’s mouth, pulled out the so called tissue by my forceps and kept that in front of them.

The girl nodded, wrapped with shyness, just turned back and got inside a room and I could see a sheepish grin from the boy.

The puppy was showing a great relief.

I patted the puppy and told the boy  “While taking care of your wife, take care of our little boy too,  Dispose it properly ”  I showed the  "membrane " which was a condom!

I know you may be laughing while reading this life time episode of a veterinarian, but please accept the fact that how plastics are painful to animal's life. We will see more …