'Tis the 'season' but not the joy
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Sounds that go yip, woof and yelp in the night
TODAY, I’m writing on a subject I’ve mentioned before, but I’m cranky and tired from lack of sleep, all because Mee, the part-chow next door, has gone into heat again.
Her owner Khun J keeps her in the patio, not even taking her out for walks, but the situation is difficult. Clustered around her gate are all the unneutered soi boys, hoping for a hot date with the sexy girl.
The last time she went into heat, J ignored the problem entirely, simply keeping Mee away from potential boyfriends.
She didn’t seem to notice all the boys’ whining and barking outside, while human admirers of Mee’s beauty and intelligence grew tired of the noise.
This time, J has continued the same way. At night, she leaves Mee on the ground floor and retreats to her bedroom upstairs. Even though temperatures are not very high, she turns the air-conditioning in her bedroom up high and sleeps happily all night.
The rest of the neighbourhood is not so happy. Why should we turn up our air-conditioning because of J’s dog? None of us gets much sleep while the noise continues.
The situation is bad for my dog too. As the dogs outside try to catch Mee’s attention, my little poodle Wan-Wan feels the need to respond.
For every bark the boys make, Wan, a friendly dog, seems to feel the need to respond, sort of “Hello! Hello!”
The boys, of course, aren’t interested in Wan, who was neutered years ago.
J has refused to have her dog neutered. She first decided not to let her dog have the Operation to keep her from getting fat. Now that Mee is fat anyway, J says it’s useless to spend the money on the Operation since Mee will die in a few years.
My vet, who’s met Mee, disagrees. Mee is still not too old for surgery. The money is also well worth it, since, she warns, not giving the dog the Operation puts the animal at risk for life-threatening illnesses, such as pyometra, an infection of the uterus.
This disease occurs because when the girl is in heat, her hormones change. In addition, to prepare for the male sperm, the body prevents white blood cells entering the uterus. Without white cells, any bacteria in the uterus are completely free to multiply, usually leading to the disease and a very painful death.
With this infection, the best treatment is to remove the uterus entirely before the infection can spread.
Dogs at risk for pyometra are those who are not spayed, especially senior unspayed dogs, or dogs that have gone into heat but have never been mated. The more times the dog goes into heat without mating, the greater the risk of this illness.
Several signs of this terrible infection are: if your dog stays in season much longer than two weeks; if you see a smelly liquid (pus) coming out of her rear end; if your dog seems very uncomfortable. She may or may not eat. She may or may not drink a lot of water.
If you see any of these signs, do take your dog to a vet immediately. Pyometra does not cure itself.
The best way to avoid this illness is to have your dog neutered before any problem starts. If you cannot afford the cost of the surgery, the BMA veterinary clinics throughout Bangkok will do the surgery for free. It’s up to you to give your dog post-operation care.
Yes, Mee, who has been in season at least eight times and possibly more, is in danger.
So are the boys. J has decided the best way to handle them is to drive them away with a stick. Now their hopeful barking has changed to squeals of pain.
