COVID AND THE K9 CHRONICLES

 

Recently, a friend forwarded a video of two dogs at Helsinki Airport who were able to detect people who were positive for the Corona virus. All they needed was a swab of their neck and wrists. I responded saying that Zooey, my Dalmatian possessed this superpower without the swabs.

I have experienced TLC (tender-loving-care) quite a few times with my dogs - a head on my tummy/lap when I am in pain, staying close, a cuddle away and constantly on guard. It always felt like they were ever ready to return the pats, behind the ear scratching and the belly rub favours; I just had to ask.

With my Mom nearing eighty and my immunosuppressed state following my renal transplant, topped off with comorbidities, we as a family were extremely careful, ever since the pandemic hit. The year 2020 had gone past without a hitch. But we were not out of the woods and continued to follow measures for hygiene and safety. 

It was the early days of the second wave, I noticed that all three of them - Zooey (the Dalmatian), Tanny (the Dalmatian-Indie mix) and Lincoln (the Rottweiler) - were being very clingy. They usually “look me up”, when I am not feeling too well but this was different. Sure enough, I soon began showing symptoms and the RT-PCR test came positive. My husband and younger daughter tested positive as well. Covid had found its way into our home. We informed our neighbours and the Covid Response Team of our apartment complex about the test results. Our home was promptly sealed in accordance with the protocols in place and we home quarantined ourselves. 

I was quite surprised to receive a call from  our our dog walker, within minutes of our sharing the news with our apartment complex. He told me that the news had reached the complex nearby and the dog owners there forbade him from coming to our home. We had not even entertained the thought and told him that our flat was under quarantine. He was not to come until the BBMP sticker on our front door, had been removed. News sure travels fastest in the concrete jungles.

Though it would have been the ideal course of action to be taken, we were clear from the outset that we would not send the dogs away to a boarding, for two reasons:

1.       Lincoln, would not take to anyone unless he was introduced to them, by the leader of his pack - my husband

2.       All three were aware that something was clearly not quite right at home and they would not be comfortable, to say the least.

The decision to keep them home was not easy, but they stepped up to the plate. 14 days without walks or going out! Think about it - no sniffing, no marking territory, no catching up and barking hello/expletives to other dogs and unlike their "hoomans", no online classes to make up for it either. No Siree, not a whine or a yelp, from the three of them. Flowerpots without plants but with mud in them were emptied and mounds set up in two balconies. All three of them got the drift from the word, go. Sniff the mound and mark territory. Do a neat job of poopoo by the side, to be cleaned up, nice and easy.

I have been told that our pets take on any health issues that we face and ease the pain. 

Circa late 2012, Zooey kept throwing up everytime she had her meal. Would eat grass during her walks but it did not help. Vet visits, X-rays, Surgeries...nothing worked. Finally figured that she had an intestinal block and was unable to digest her food. No amount of medical intervention would help and the vet advised that we put her down. Thanks to the second of my brood (Sarah), we decided against it. In October 2013, I was diagnosed with Stage IV Renal Failure - IgA Nephropathy, a silent killer. The ancient wisdom of my tribe declared that Zooey had sensed my condition much earlier and taken on the negative energies! Mumbo-jumbo? Ah well...I am torn between my tribal roots and my scientific temperament. Cut to the present, I live with a transplanted kidney and Zooey is on a gastro-intestinal diet. She turned 11, this year and is fiesty as ever.

And yes, 4-5 days after being tested positive for COVID, my saturation levels plummeted and given that we were in quarantine, I had rush myself  to hospital. Docs warned about the ‘cytokine storm’ that would hit my system and I waited for it like a meteorologist waiting for the Level-4 typhoon. Back home Lincoln was having blood stools, Zooey was throwing up all over the place and Tanny was being unnaturally aggressive - scratching herself and destroying the mound! This stopped when the danger passed for me. One could dismiss this as sheer coincidence…

These three are my power-pack, a constant source of strength and support. When the going goes tough, they are my toughies that, “get on with it”.

Notes: 

1. An abridged version of this piece was first published in the May 2021 edition of  Pawprints, a quarterly newsletter, published online by Pugmarks, the community of pet families in an apartment complex in Bangalore. Pawprints is a tapestry of love, laughter, grief, wonder and appreciation that features heartwarming stories about pets, neighbourhood rescues and lots more.

2. BBMP is the Bangalore Municipal Corporation (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike)

3. "get on with it" - reference, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh