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DAWSON, THE CREEK DOG

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It Takes a Village

A community comes together to help a starving stray

For those of us who work with ani-mals on a regular basis– whether as veterinarians, shelter volunteers or animal advocates–seeing an animal in distress, particularly when it’s a result of abuse, cruelty or extreme neglect, is one of the toughest parts of the job. It never gets easier and, over time, it can chip away at your soul. But every now and then, you also get to witness wonderful acts of compassion and generosity that restore your faith in humanity.

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Dawson, the Creek Dog

At first glance, he may not appear very interesting or excep-tionally good look-ing, but to hospital staff and regular vis-itors, Dawson is a very special dog. The only remarkable thing you might say about the medi-um-sized, mixed-breed is the curious stub where a tail should be and the perfectly matching slits at the tips of both his ears. That was not the case, however, when he first arrived at Ma-kati Dog and Cat Hospital last June 28, 2013.

 

Dawson’s story began when a volun-teer of animal welfare group CARA (Compassion and Responsibility for Animals) heard about a stray dog that was trapped in a creek in Makati City. Upon further investigation, she learned from people in the neighbour-hood that the abandoned dog had been there for at least a week, possi-bly longer. We may never know just how long he was trapped in the creek but judging from his physical appearance, he was slowly starv-ing to death. Weigh-ing a little over 13 lbs., the dog was severely emaciated, all skin and bones, with only a few tufts of light brown fur hanging off his skeletal body. He was so weak he could barely stand and his eyes had lost their lustre. He looked like he was at death’s door.

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With the help of the barangay securi-ty officers along with an emergency team from CARA, the dog was res-cued. He was later named “Dawson” in a nod to the eter-nally optimistic eponymous lead character of 90’s TV series

“Dawson’s Creek.”

 

The Road to Recovery 

The road to recovery was slow. Ini-tially, he was fed small amounts of a highly digestible, quality dog food at regular intervals, which was gradual-ly increased. As he put on more weight, he regained his strength, slowly but surely. Throughout it all, the capable team of vets led by Dr. Carlos and Dr. Zaldy closely monitored his progress. It was later discovered that he had a hip injury, most likely due to some type of trauma. But even the lingering limp has not put a damper on sweet-natured Dawson’s friendly, outgoing personality, which blossomed during his stay at Makati Dog and Cat Hospital.

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In the six months that he has been there, he has become a fixture at the hospital, greeting his favourite han-dlers, Miguel and Richard, with play-ful barks and vigorous wags whenever he sees them. He is always genu-inely happy to return to the hospital– a safe place that nurtured him back to health.

 

Perhaps what stands out most about Dawson’s story is how different peo-ple in the community came together to help a starving stray dog get a se-cond lease on life, proving the fa-mous proverb “It takes a village” holds true even when it comes to helping animals.

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By Francesca L. Ortigas

The Man Who Started It All

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         Dr. Enrique Carlos   Sixto Almeda Carlos y Nepomuceno was born in Biñan, Laguna. His father with the same name was from Biñan, Laguna and his mother from Binondo, Manila. He established a Dog and Cat Clinic in 1927 and had his family home above the clinic; so much so that he was checking his patient (dogs and cats) as early as 4:00 AM. He was also active as a horse practi-tioner in San Lazaro and later in Sta. Ana. He was a stewart in the horse races. He was also well known by kutseros (calesa or caritella horse drivers) when services for free every Tuesdays. Being a devotee of the Black Nazarene in Quiapo, he reli-giously participated in the procession. He was registered in the government regulating office in the registration with number 057.

In 1918 together with Dr. Victor Abreu Buencamino, he is the first Filipino of-ficer of the PVMA in 1918 to 1919 as treasurer and Dr. Beuncamino as presi-dent while other officers being Ameri-cans.

In 1958, his son Dr. Enrique Rodriguez Carlos took over the Dog and Cat Hospi-tal in the same building in 185 Marquez de Comillas and later renamed 839 Romualdez St. . This was the first dog and cat hospital in Manila.

Dr. Sixto Almeda Carlos was also a Philippine delegate in the 1948 London Olympics. A great grandson, Rodolfo Sebastian S. Carlos was one of the torch bearers from among the 8,000 of the 2012 London Olympics. The Carlos family have been offering services to dog and cat companion animals. Currently, Dr. Sixto Enrique Miguel Alimudin Carlos y Siap-no continues the small animal practice in the Makati Dog and Cat Hospital.

Dr. Enrique T. Carlos

DR. ENRIQUE R. CARLOS

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Dr. Enrique R. Carlos established the Makati Dog and Cat Hospital in 1962 with postal address of Amapola, Bel-Air III with telephone no, 88-63-86 and 87-28-60 now 5426 Gen. Luna cor. Algier St. Poblacion, Makati City; while the address has changed the physical location is the same. He maintained the Dog and Cat Hospital in 839 Romualdez St. Ermita, Manila with telephone no, 3-22- 60. He took over the hospital from his father Sixto Almeda Carlos in 1959.

Dr. Enrique R. Carlos was born on April 24, 1921 and was baptized Jose Antonio Vicente Enrique Almeda Carlos y Rodriguez. He graduated from the University of the Philippine College of Veterinary Science located in the Bureau of Animal Industry (AI) compound in Pandacan, Manila, now the Malacanang Security compound in 1972. Since the Nagtahan Bridge was not yet existing students ands personel of the Bureau of Animal Industry would ride a banca to cross the Pasig River and for those with car would be picked up at the other side to San Miguel and Malacanang.

In 1972, he was appointed to the College if Medicine, University of the Philippines as part-time professor without
compensation in the Department of Medicine. He was also appointed as Visiting Scientist of the NAMRU II (Navy and Marine Research Unit) of the US Navy doing extensive research on Leptospirosis and other pathogens. He was also a Consultant of the research facilities of the Veterans Memorial Hospital.

Dr. Enrique R. Carlos (right) with his father Dr. Sixto Almeda Carlos (left).

Dr. Enrique R. Carlos (right) with his
father Dr. Sixto Almeda Carlos (left).

God will watch over you night and day

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Have you ever prayed, “The Lord is my Shepherd” from Psalm 23?Image

Photo credit: http://500px.com/photo/38963552

When ancient Jews prayed that special prayer, they’d feel an inner warmth in their hearts. Some would close their eyes and may even shed a tear or two. Because they knew what it meant to be a shepherd. They felt it. They knew the toil, the sacrifice, the hardship of being a shepherd that loves his sheep. If there was dan-ger, he wouldn’t sleep at night or take coffee breaks or read a pocketbook or even text some-one in his cell phone. He’ll just watch and be ready to lay down his life for his sheep.

But when modern Filipinos pray the prayer of Psalm 23, the only reason we’d feel an inner warmth in our hearts is if we had just eaten too much Crispy Pata before we prayed and have heartburn.

We don’t see shepherds, sheep, or lambs a lot. We’re fa-miliar with wool, yes, but the steel wool variety for cleaning pots and pans. The closest thing to sheep we’ve seen are goats, and they’re not very docile creatures. They eat anything in sight, make a lot of noise, and smell bad—reminding us of a drunkard uncle.

So to help people feel what it means to be a shepherd, I ask people to think about their first pet as a kid.

Can you recall yours?

Mine was a chicken. Well, it was first a tiny chick, and then a chicken. Finally, it became fried chicken, but that’s going ahead of the story.

I cared for that chick with my life. The first thing I did upon arriving from school was to visit my pet, feed it with rice, and rock it in my hand.

After a couple of months, my chick grew up and I started play-ing all sorts of games with her: running, jump-ing, pecking… I tried teaching her chess, but I kept getting a chick-mate. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist. I promise not to give another pun in my entire life, ever.)

But during the day, I went to school. And I guess that’s why one day, I came home and dis-covered my feathered friend in a platter with french fries and cat-sup. I wasn’t there for her when someone became hungry—someone who to this day has re-mained anonymous to me.

I guess I wasn’t such a great shepherd, because “shepherds need to be con-stantly there, protecting and caring, twenty-four hours a day.”

But thank goodness, God is-n’t like me at all.

He’s here for you for life.

Permanently.

Eternally.

You won’t be anyone’s fried chicken.

Or shish kebab for that mat-ter.

He’ll never leave you for one moment.

He’ll never take siestas or coffee breaks or read a pocket-book or text anyone in his cell phone.

He will watch over you night and day.

May your dreams come true,

 

Bo Sanchez

PS. If you want to read my free eBook, How To Know If Your Dreams Are God’s Dreams, visit http://www.BoSanchez.ph and sign up for it, including my Soulfood Letter for your

Humans and Heartworm Health

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For many, heartworm infection has always been associated with dogs and cats. While the disease causes severe consequences in infected pets, transmission to humans has not really been highlighted or commonly known among pet owners or the general public. Heartworm infection in people is often classified as accidental, if any.

Several journals reported human dirofilariasis cases and an infective larval stage of the worm Dirofilaria immitis was identified as the culprit. The same worm affects both dogs and cats to cause heartworm infection. These larvae invade various human tissues without any evident clinical signs in the affected person during development. More common tissues affected by the larvae’s migration include connective tissues and the pulmonary arteries. The migrating larva would embed itself in the human tissues but will be unable to thrive in this environment. It eventually dies in the tissues and an inflammatory response occurs which results in a granuloma or nodule in the affected tissue. This can be seen in x-rays as a dense “coin” lesion in the chest area.

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Earlier studies reported no clinical signs in affected humans, but recent data report chest pains, coughing (sometimes with blood), fever and pneumonitis as more frequently observed effects. Extrapulmonary infection was mentioned in an article where the brain, eye and testicles were affected. Extensive diagnostic tests were conducted on the infected individuals to rule out other infectious agents and cancer. And in almost all scientific research conducted on human dirofilariasis, there is mention of misdiagnosis as a common occurrence in the affected patients presented to medical doctors due to the very common signs found in these patients. As with any disease, arriving at a definitive diagnosis is a very costly, time-consuming and emotionally draining process which affects the quality of life of the infected individual as well as his loved ones. For those diagnosed with human dirofilariasis, the surgical removal of the granuloma was the most appropriate solution.

Extra precaution against health problems is oftentimes a conscious effort. And in the Philippines where mosquitoes (which are vectors of the Dirofilaria larvae) are everywhere 24/7 all year round, heartworm infection is very much an expected occurrence in dogs. Regular preventives against heartworm for our pets (and consequently for us, too) are available to keep us worry-free and disease free. Talk to your vet about it.

By: Ayn Arejola