Animals

KEEPING WILD ANIMALS IN CONFINEMENT, IS THIS MORALLY ETHICAL

The recent planning application to install an aquarium in the Victualling Yard raises some moral issues that should extend far into society and question the keeping of certain animals in cages, confined environments or aquariums. 

I grew up in an era of performing animals, circuses, substandard inhumane zoos, pet shops selling wild caught wild caught birds, monkeys in cages etc.

One of the memories I had as a young child was going to see performing dolphins at the Montagu Pavilion, one can only imagine the suffering of these animals as they were transported. Pet shops in the 1970s used to stock wild caught birds for sale in cages, Goldfinches, Greenfinches, Sirens, Siskins etc etc . People used to keep male Goldfinches in small cages about 20 x 20 cms for their immaculate song , tragic to confine an animal that could fly miles a day into this prison just for human enjoyment . These songbirds sing for a reason, to attract females so that they can mate, not so that it gives a human a few minutes of pleasure. 

Aquarium fish are also another tragic tale. One in 6 aquarium fish die from reef to retail. It is estimated that tens of millions of fish die annually to feed the global aquarium industry. TENS OF MILLIONS!!!  I was ignorant of this fact until very recently. As we educate ourselves on the realities of what happens behind the scenes we should shake off these impulses to see animals in confinement for our pleasure.

I remember a conversation I had with a very religious gentleman, who argued that all animals were put on earth for our gratification. What a load of nonsense, what’s more humans as the most intelligent species on this planet has a duty of care to all its fellow animals. We shouldn’t be sticking them in confinement for our ‘enjoyment’ and ‘education’, we should be protecting their environments and the climate and looking after their welfare.

We should be having companion animals under our roofs rather than pets, such as dogs and cats that are an integral part of our family, I can assure you that they will love you more than 95 % of the humans out there. 

So I come back to the large Aquarium that they want to build, a backward step for society, if you want to be educated on these splendid wild animals that belong in oceans then go out on a boat, or visit the seashore. If physically this is impossible there are loads of high quality documentaries out there that will show these animals in their natural state. Absolutely no need to imprison them for out ‘enjoyment’ and ‘education’. 

For more
information please phone Gibraltar
Vetinary Clinic on
200 77334

Please consider adopting one of these babies. They have been waiting a long time for a forever home.

Heat stroke The risks

I have covered this subject before. But as summer arrives I feel that I should remind pet owners of the seriousness of heat stroke. Heat and problems with exposure of your animal to extremes of temperature can be life threatening for your pets and you should take precautions always, especially when in doubt.

Always remember what is good for the goose is not necessarily good for the gander. This means that different pets require care which in many cases has to be tailored individually.

I will try to summarise the main areas of problems:

• NEVER leave your pet unattended in a car. In warm weather even an overcast day can still lead to high temperatures in cars in a very short period of time.

• Avoid walking your dog on hot surfaces. One very common injury I see are burnt pads on dogs where they have been exercised on roads/pavements. This injury is unlikely on grass verges but there are not many of those around in Gibraltar

• Extreme caution has to be taken with brachycephalic breeds such as pugs, bulldogs etc. These animals are not designed for exercise in hot atmospheres. These animals tend to have very narrow airways; therefore an increased respiratory rate can lead to inspiratory stridor, difficulty in breathing, and can lead to collapse and death.

• Similar precautions have to be taken with dogs with cardiac conditions, avoid exercise in hot weather; this may lead to extra stress on the circulatory system and can lead to cardiac failure. If your pet suffers from a heart condition keep a very close eye on its respiratory rate, an increased rate could indicate that your animal is decompensating and could be going into heart failure.

• Swimming. Loads of dogs love swimming especially in the warmer weather. Again be careful with brachycephalic breeds, these tend to not be as efficient at swimming as the longer nosed breeds. Make sure that they you are close at hand just in case they come into difficulties.
heat stroke

Heat stroke is a condition that results from hyperthermia (an elevation in body temperature). This increase typically occurs as a response to a trigger, such as inflammation in the body or a hot environment. When a dog is exposed to high temperatures, heat stroke or heat exhaustion can result. Heat stroke is a very serious condition that requires immediate medical attention. Once the signs of heat stroke are detected, there is precious little time before serious damage or even death can occur.

Dogs do not sweat through their skin like humans; they release heat primarily by panting and they sweat through the foot pads and nose. If a dog cannot effectively expel heat, the internal body temperature begins to rise.

Once the dog’s temperature reaches 42 degrees centigrade, damage to the body’s cellular system and organs may become irreversible. Unfortunately, too many dogs succumb to heat stroke when it could have been avoided. Learn how to recognize the signs of heat stroke and prevent it from happening to your dog.

Signs of heat stroke in dogs

The following signs may indicate heat stroke in a dog:
• Increased rectal temperature (over 40 requires action, over 42 is a dire emergency)
• Vigorous panting
• Dark red gums
• Tacky or dry mucous membranes (specifically the gums)
• Lying down and unwilling (or unable) to get up
• Collapse and/or loss of consciousness
• Thick saliva
• Dizziness or disorientation

What to Do if You Suspect Heat Stroke
If you have even the slightest suspicion that your dog is suffering from heat stroke, you must take immediate action.

• First, move your dog out of the heat and away from the sun right away.
• Begin cooling your dog with cool water. You may place wet rags or washcloths on the foot pads and around the head but replace them frequently as they warm up. Avoid covering the body with wet towels, as it may trap in heat.

• DO NOT use ice or ice water! Extreme cold can cause the blood vessels to constrict, preventing the body’s core from cooling and actually causing the internal temperature to further rise. In addition, over-cooling can cause hypothermia, introducing a host of new problems. When the body temperature reaches 39 stop cooling. At this point, your dog’s body should continue cooling on its own. However keep monitoring in case temperature starts to rise again.
• Offer your dog cool water, but do not force water into your dog’s mouth. Try not to let your dog drink excessive amounts at a time.
• Call or visit your vet right away – even if your dog seems better. Internal damage might not be obvious to the naked eye, so an exam is necessary (and further testing may be recommended).

Please consider adopting one of these babies. They have been waiting a long time for a forever home.

IF YOUR CAT IS HUNGRY IT DOESN’T MEAN YOU HAVE TO FEED IT!

Animal obesity in the majority of cases is a direct result of us the owners not understanding animal behaviour properly. 

Feeling hungry is a normal physiological process, it is a natural reflex which then gets the animal and us to become active and go in search of food. 

With cats this hunger drives them in the wild to go hunting, cats will hunt and in 70% of cases be unsuccessful. What this means is that the animal expends a large amount of energy before it is successful. In the wild this has various functions, this ensures that there is survival of the fittest and also the animals stay healthy and fit. 

So what when we domesticate cats? As a general rule when we have a pet and they ask for food we feed them. Pretty much the same as we do with ourselves, this then has the knock on effect of resulting in obesity and all the associated problems that come with that. Obese cats are prone to many illness , diabetes , liver problems , poor skin condition , poor cardiovascular problems , dermatitis , skin allergies etc 

So what should be do when a cat ‘demands’ food? At this point you should not feed your cat , this is time to interact with the animal, it will be active, it will move around , will be more likely to play . In most cases it might even be a bit annoying and interact directly with you to encourage you to feed it. This is the best time to burn some calories and stop your cat becoming overweight, the long term benefits for a young cat in keeping the weight off are enormous. 

With dogs it is a very similar situation, but not identical as dogs physiology is different. Cats should feed little and often, they are primarily hunters, dogs are different, they can go days without feeding after a large feed without any deleterious side effects, cats can’t do this, a cat that doesn’t eat for 3 days will start to develop hepatic problems. 

Thankfully for our pet cats we don’t have survival of the fittest and we can keep them fit and healthy for many years, but feed them with common sense and interact with them more, they will be healthier and live a longer life for us to enjoy with them. 

Please consider adopting one of these babies. They have been waiting a long time for a forever home.

Summer is upon us

The weather has warmed rapidly and with this comes the resurgence of the insects and the parasitic ones that can cause disease in your pets. Protecting your pet is of vital importance, otherwise your best friend could suffer chronic illness for the rest of its life . Today I will revisit a couple of the diseases. 

Locally the most significant problem and one that can cause serious illness in your pet is canine leishmaniasis . 

This disease is caused by a flagellated protozoa that is injected into dogs by Sandflies (phlebotominae), looks like a tiny mosquito. The female of this biting fly feeds on blood that it requires for egg production, however at the same time that it feeds it can infect the host with the protozoa, in a similar way that malaria is spread by mosquitos.

The protozoa can cause devastating damage to a dog, but the illness is a slow insidious disease that can damage pretty much any organ in the body, broadly speaking they can be divided into two types, the visceral type infecting the internal body organs, or the cutaneous one that infects the skin. This is a bit of a simplification as it can affect any body system and therefore can sometimes it can be a challenge to diagnose. One common complaint is that the dog ‘isn’t right’. In some cases the illness is asymptomatic until the animal becomes suddenly seriously ill , in some of these cases the dog has gone beyond the point of no return and does not respond to medical therapy.

Confirmation of the disease is done by doing a simple blood test, generally you can have the results back in under quarter of an hour. 

There are various treatment regimes used in the medical therapy of infected dogs, depending on their body condition, the body system affected and on the finances available. Sometimes the dog does not respond to one treatment and may need an alternative.

What is very unfortunate about this disease is that in the majority of cases after treatment the animal goes into remission and the parasite cannot be eliminated, it remains dormant in some hidden recess of the body, usually in the lymphatic system or the bone marrow.  Thanks to medical progress we can now actually look for DNA of the protozoa in the blood, so that we can check the level of infection in treated animals to make sure the parasite does not make an unwelcome reappearance.

Evidently prevention of leshmaniasis is by far the best option. Now not all dogs are at the same risk of contracting this disease so you can tailor your prevention strategy depending on the your particular circumstances.

There are two ways of protecting your pet, one is to vaccinate your pet and secondly to prevent its infection by the Sandfly.

Vaccination is a fairly recent option, it is more expensive than your standard vaccine, but be aware that the manufacturers do not recommend that you stop using ecto-parasite treatment to stop the vector.

However all pets do not require the same level of protection, the highest level must be for those dogs that are outside in gardens during the times of highest risk, dusk to dawn.  Those dogs living in flats in highly urbanised areas are at a smaller risk but there is never any guarantee that a female Sandfly will not sneak in and infect your family pet, do not become complacent.

The other main ectoparasite of concern at this time of year is the common flea. Although they do not carry serious illnesses they can cause many chronic skin complaints. The exception to this is a blood parasite in cats that is spread by fleas and this can kill your pet if not diagnosed early enough.

If an animal with a flea allergy dermatitis isn’t treated they the problem can snowball and the condition can become serious and very expensive to treat. In this day and age there is no excuse for your pet suffering from a flea problem; there are a multitude of decent products out there to prevent your pet from being infested with these blighters. 

In summary go and out get your pets protected NOW!!

Please consider adopting one of these babies. They have been waiting a long time for a forever home.

A Lifetime Compressed into 15 Years

A common complaint I get from clients is that they take their pets more the vets than their own children. 

There are a few reasons for this:

Primarily these companion animals are totally dependent on humans for their existence.  They exist because man has bred these animals to fit certain stereotypes that are favoured by the whims of humans.  Animals have been selectively bred with short noses, long noses, short legs, long legs, big and muscular, thin and sinewy etc etc, the list is endless.  As a direct result of this we do not have natural evolution with the survival of the fittest but we have created animals with genetic defects that often leads to illness and physical deficiencies. As a direct result of this we generally have to take pets for veterinary care more often than a wild animal. 

Another reason is that our pets are totally dependent on us, they can’t make a judgement call and decide that they should pop down to the vets for a check-up. As they can’t communicate their health is totally dependent on their carer, who has to pick up on symptoms of malaise and seek medical care for them when necessary. 

Also we treat a pet earlier than we would treat ourselves in many cases. For example, we live in a dense urbanised environment so if you take your dog out and it has diarrhoea you will seek out veterinary care far sooner than if it was yourself. There are few things worse than having to pick up liquid stools!!

However I don’t believe you do go more often to the vets more often than you do for yourselves or members of your family, relatively speaking. Our companion animals live for an average of 15 to 20 years, human’s life for an average of between 70 and 80 years. This means that their life and all potential illnesses are compressed into a far smaller timeline. Animals suffer from the majority of diseases that humans do, obesity, diabetes, liver, kidney etc , just at an accelerated rate due to their shortened life span . In my estimation over our lifetime we are probably more likely to seek medical assistance more than often than your pet, especially due to fact that many of us are hypochondriacs.   

So keep loving those pets and give them the care they deserve, their life is short, make it great!!!.

For more
information please phone Gibraltar
Vetinary Clinic on
200 77334

Please consider adopting one of these babies. They have been waiting a long time for a forever home.