We went out to treat an elephant with conjunctivitis when we
received a call that three of the Painted Dogs were down in their enclosure and
not moving. We raced across and saw that one of them was already dead, two were
still breathing, while another two seemed unaffected but very agitated. It
turns out they had been fed meat from a horse that was heavily contaminated
with a powerful anaesthetic.
The decision was made to chase the two unaffected dogs into
their night enclosure. The keepers started making a loud noise, which caused
the animals to panic and they jumped out of their enclosure. We all raced for
cover in the cars and quickly planned how to dart the escaped dogs so they
could be recaptured. Fortunately it was before opening time, so there was only
zoo staff to be moved into the safe zones.
I was given a fire extinguisher and put on an exit from the savannah
area, with instructions not to let the dogs past me while the vets and nurses
set about darting the dogs. I don’t know what I would have done if the Painted
Dogs came my way, as there was nowhere to hide if they did. After a few
terrifying minutes, I received a radio call that the dogs had been darted and
recaptured, so we set about working on the two dogs that were down in their
enclosure.
Over the next week, the vets and nurses worked tirelessly to
save these two dogs. The head vet didn’t leave the zoo for five days, and we
all took turns trying to keep them alive. At one point we had to breathe for
one of the dogs for over 24 hours.
After 5 days, one of them died. We all were devastated, but
the other one was starting to recover so we kept going. We spent another 3 days
medicating and feeding this dog with a stomach tube before it was strong enough
to eat on its own.
The day we released it back into its enclosure with the
other dogs was unforgettable. We were all tired and emotional, but it all felt
worth while.
No comments:
Post a Comment