They do more for us than we do for them

Recently, Ukraine has once again declared itself to the world as a territory where cruel treatment of animals is almost a norm. This completely contradicts the image of a civilized country we try to create before the Euro-2012. At the same time, not so long ago in Podil district of Kyiv quarantine was announced due to the discovery of rabies in dogs. After this happened an article by Antonina Lesych appeared on the website of UNIAN, where she wrote: “Quarantine was announced in Podil district due to one discovered case of rabies. We also have a pandemic of tuberculosis and infectious hospitals are packed with children ill with meningitis. Before we had chicken pox raging in the area, children in whole schools were getting sick. But nobody announced any quarantines. Now they will try to focus our attention specifically on rabies! If there is a PR move needed to boost medicine sales, let it be swine flu! Should we kill dogs, let’s use rabies as an excuse. What else can we do when Europe is watching us and we have to clean out Kyiv from animals before Euro-2012.” Unfortunately, those terrifying words may as well be the truth.

Today most of families have pets. We get used to them and they get used to us, we train them and they teach us to be kinder and more attentive. After all, they do for us more than we do for them. Psychologists have long advised parents to buy some pet for a child (of course if s/he wants one) in order not to make them grow selfish. In such a way a child would learn to be responsible. Unfortunately, life with pets doesn’t always bring only joy. Pets, just like humans, have diseases and injuries. Then an expert is needed, who will help to heal an animal and will suggest tips on how to keep the pet, will advise future owners and conduct a thorough examination. The Day spoke with Vitalii PLYSIUK, doctor of veterinary medicine at the Alden-Vet clinic on the peculiarities of animals’ treatment, dangerous genetic diseases, and the need for continuous monitoring of the pet’s health.

Mr. Plysiuk, now people become sick more often. Is the situation the same in the animal world: is it also hard for them to adjust to environmental conditions, do they suffer from low quality food?

“Animals get sick at different ages and in different years at almost the same rate. Another thing is that now most diseases have become more stringent. New kinds of diseases appear: some extend from the southern regions (due to the global warming), there are also many autoimmune and genetic diseases.”

By “more stringent” you mean that a disease is harder to cure?

“I meant that the course of the disease is hard on the animal. There are also diseases that are difficult to treat.”

What difficult cases have you had in your medical practice?

“Serious illnesses are the genetic disease of bone tissue. This is the disturbance of development and growth, all sorts of dysplasia. Congenital abnormalities that can be transmitted from parents to offspring (for example, medial dislocation of the knee cups in small breeds of dogs) are also serious diseases. Besides, among those there are also autoimmune diseases: atopic dermatitis impossible to fully cure, only the adjustment of diet is possible in such cases in order to reduce the manifestations of skin disease. There are acute diseases that can disappear after one or two appointments with a doctor and there are chronic diseases, when regular reviews and appropriate long-term care are needed. We are also dealing with cases of lingering diseases – congenital or acquired pathologies, where the process of full recovery is impossible. Such animals often undergo clinical examination – several doctors are examining them.

“There are different approaches to treatment. Because the animals have different weight, the dosage of medications should be different as well. If we put the IV, the estimated dose of infusion solutions will be different. Besides, not all types of medicine can be used for small breeds of dogs, but they can be used on big dogs without any problems. There are all sorts of nuances and they all have to be taken into account.”

FOOD IS THE PROBLEM BOTH FOR PEOPLE AND FOR DOGS

Owners of animals get used to their pets, and they become almost a part of family to them. That is why people often want their pets to live as long as possible. Are modern veterinarian technologies and pharmacy capable of prolonging animals’ life?

“First of all, life duration and health of an animal depends on its genetic material. The second component is the world in which the animal lives – environment and food. One can not say that life duration of pets today has become longer that 10 or 12 years ago. I’ve already said that there are new diseases that affect span of life. If to speak about food I must say that it should be balanced: if the diet includes natural ingredients like meat and cereals, you need to pay attention to the quality of meat. At the moment we have a global problem with the quality of human nutrition, then what can be said about the food dogs and cats eat? I think if a person can afford eating food of good quality himself, he will feed his pet the same.”

Do you often perform surgeries on animals?

“Quite often there are diseases where there are indications for surgical intervention. Not all clients agree to certain surgical procedures: some don’t have enough money, others do not understand the need, and yet others are indifferent and decide that the animal will live on like that.”

Can you give an example of a complicated (interesting) case for a veterinarian?

“Complicated cases are pathologies in small animals. Yorkshire terrier, Chihuahua, and toy-terrier are the three breeds of dogs, which often have the pathology of medial dislocation of the knee cups. This problem is genetic and is transmitted from parents. It is very interesting to see the owner’s reaction to such pathology: for example, when a one year old dog with a characteristic lameness gets to veterinarian’s office and I show his owner the pathology, the owner goes: ‘Oh, and I was always pleased with this interesting manner of walking…’ Person hadn’t even asked himself why his dog wagged his hind legs like a cowboy. That is why, some pathologies are funny in the eyes of pets’ owners, but, in fact, they are very hard on the dog due to the disorder of hind legs movements mechanics. The only treatment method is surgery on the knee joint. This type of surgery is considered to be quite difficult for a pet but it is a justified action to prevent negative consequences in a more advanced age. Unfortunately, most clients do not understand the need for this right away.”

PEOPLE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR PETS

Do the pets’ owners tell about how hard it is in Ukraine to walk into a store or some other building or to stay in a hotel with a dog?

“I know an example of tourist business in the Carpathians, where the owners do not mind if tourists come on vocation with their pets. Among my clients there are people who always travel with their pets. Where do they stay there? Perhaps, there are some kind of recreation complexes. I think that it should be possible for a certain among of money.”

Today a lot of attention is paid by community (including European community) to the situation with homeless dogs, especially within the framework of preparations for Euro-2012. However, instead of building shelters, dogs in Ukraine are simply being killed. In your opinion, what can be a solution to this issue?

“It is difficult to solve. I do not know all the information, but I will say that even when an animal is sterilized and released, it still stays in the environment where people live, runs on playgrounds, and can carry dangerous diseases. Some can be pretty horrible for humans, like rabies, for example. I think that this disease should be completely eliminated in our society, the way it was done in some Western countries. Before the cases of rabies were reported outside of Kyiv, but at the moment cases of animal rabies were reported in the city. As a result of the disease the animals attack and bite people. Recently such case was registered in the Podil district, in the fall there was the similar case in the Obolon district. There are also many diseases that are quite severe for both children and adults. Of course, nobody wants to be ill, thus this issue remains relevant and must be addressed as soon as possible.”