Our Neighbor's Dog Is Dying

[tuffy]

Our neighbor has a very old dog, and for the last week or 2 now it crys for about 12 hours a day. I really should say it screams in agony as it sounds very close to a woman screaming. They have taken it to the vet but there is nothing apparently that can be done for it.

The poor animal can no longer move freely on its own and can only lay in the back yard and cry.

In western culture it is not only humane to put the animal out of its misery but the right thing to do.

Here in Thailand it is against their culture / religion to take another life....

What can I do to help this poor animal?

[PhilHarries]

Could you not volunteer that you take it to the vets and have it put down thereby maintaining your neighbours Buddhist integrity? Provided you can find a vet that will do the job humanely.

[tuffy]

Could you not volunteer that you take it to the vets and have it put down thereby maintaining your neighbours Buddhist integrity? Provided you can find a vet that will do the job humanely.

Good suggestion.....doubtful if it will work but worth a try, I will bring that up today and see what they say.

[Nienke]

I'm sorry to hear/read this, Tuffy. Not an easy situation.

Does your wife have any idea how to approach the neighbors? Maybe proposing to 'take care' of the dog so I will not suffer anymore, without mentioning 'putting him to sleep'?

Wish you good luck.

Nienke

[tuffy]

I'm sorry to hear/read this, Tuffy. Not an easy situation.

Does your wife have any idea how to approach the neighbors? Maybe proposing to 'take care' of the dog so I will not suffer anymore, without mentioning 'putting him to sleep'?

Wish you good luck.

Nienke

Nienke,

My wife has spoken with them and "killing" the dog no matter how humane is bad juju for the neighbors and most Thais as well. Luckily she agrees with me on this subject though as she is a devout animal lover.

I have thought about "slipping" the poor guy a little something to help him along but I am not sure what I could use or where to find it either....

[Nienke]

PM Bambina for advice? She might know.

Nienke

[dr_Pat_Pong]

PM Bambina for advice? She might know.

Nienke

She'll know for certain.

[kat]

Please let us know how it goes. It sounds like a horrible situation that no one would want to witness. At the very least, maybe you can find the dog some drugs.

[elfe]

that is very sad, at least painkillers should be administered.

i would ask the people if i could take the dog to another vet somewhere else to find help...

if all fails, buy valium and give it to him...

what is the disease anyway, is it sure it cannot be cured?

good luck and no more pain...

[bina]

it could also be nerve damage which is causing the howling; and if it is in that much pain, then it isnt eating or drinking so, if old, not eating drinking, should slip into coma and die soon...

valium is difficult to give in the right dosage as pills (once did that for a dog with distemper and inaccessant howling and we had to other meds or options... it didnt work)...

a syringe and needle with saline straight to the heart works also if u know how to do that... (that was the way israeli old time vets used to do the euthenasia. nowadays they use ketamine and other stuff mixed together in an i/v. )

bina

[BambinA]

Bring the poor dog to a vet for euthanasia.

90% of vets in TH will do it in necessary cases (as IV with Thiopental ,Phenobarb)

[tuffy]

Bring the poor dog to a vet for euthanasia.

90% of vets in TH will do it in necessary cases (as IV with Thiopental ,Phenobarb)

I would love too but this is strictly against the owners beliefs. I brought up the idea to my wife of us taking over the deed but she felt that the owner would be VERY insulted by the offer..... looks like we are stuck in the proverbial rock and a hard place.

The poor thing cannot even move enough to go to the bathroom away from its bed. Maybe a pain killer or seditive could be given...I am not sure.

Edited December 14, 2007 by tuffy

[ignoramus]

I am very sad about this poor dog. If it were next door to me I could end my sadness in a second, but alas...

[Momentary dirgression: I read a quite likely apochryphal story (probably in 'Culture Shock') back in the early '90's about a Thai (Princess, I think) who, during a Royal Barge ceremony many many years ago who fell overboard. No one would help her, the story went, because that would put her under great obligation to the rescuer, who would most likely have been a person of lower status. I can understand the reasoning, as I've encountered a similar reluctance amongst the self-appointed 'higher stratas of society' to acknowledge even the slightest (needed, but unasked for) assistance from a person of lower status. Pathetic and sad, but rules are rules apparently.]

Recently I had occasion to deliver the coup de grace to a very young possum which had been hit and seriously injured (guts were visible) by a preceding vehicle. It was a windy wet and cold night, and the poor thing was trying to crawl out of harm's way. I made what could be called an executive decision, that is to say I took responsibility for the life/death of the poor creature. It's life's 'options' were zero. I shortened the odds and performed what a beneficent god would have approved of (said beneficent god not being in a postion to do anything, being non-existent).

Philosophically speaking, the possum and I were utterly and completely alone in the cosmos, it was in pain, or at least severe shock, and I, and I alone, could assist. The answer was breathtakingly simple.

I hesitated of course; it took me a few seconds to come to grips with the situation. I had to steel myself to do it, but do it I had to. To not do it would have caused me more pain than to not do it.

And as Shakespeare said, all is vanity...we do what we do for ourselves. (Though in my mind I apologised to the poor animal for my action).

I suffered for a while, but was grateful to my ability to end the baby possum's suffering. I had to steel myself, but I knew beyond any doubt that it's need for peace far outweighed my need for non-involvement.

Many years ago I was in a car with a girffriend when we came upon a kitten which had suffered a similar fate. I wanted to hit it over the head, to end its suffering. The girl objected. I acquiesced, much to my eternal shame. I acted 'like a girl'. She thought like a what? I still don't know. Her 'logic', her 'thinking', still escapes me. Well, sort of...she was wrong, I was right.

(That was back when I figured that women had all the answers).

So, where are we now with the poor dog situation? Nothing will stop me from consideration of retirement in Siam. I love the Thais. However, like all societies they possess serious flaws.

If the attitude of the dog's owners stems from Buddhism then I shall have to re-assess my attitude to this religion, and to the Thai people (not that anyone, including you, cares about what I think in this regard).

I heard a while back that the Thai education system does not teach independent thinking. This may or may not be true, but it would appear that at least in this dog situation it is true. Religions have a way of closing minds to suffering. I find this to be a weird thing. Human, but weird neverthless. It denotes a disconnectedness from the present, to which I do not relate.

Bambina states that 90% of vets would do the 'right' thing. This seems to me to be a very small percentage (it's a bit like saying that 90% of mothers love their their offspring). In Oz 100% of vets virtually insist of ending unnecessary suffering.

Frankly I am amazed that the OP couldn't figure out what to do. It's a bit like 'well the guy next door is sexually abusing his 8 month old daughter, should I do anything'? Has the OP perhaps drowned himself in the religious ethos, the zeitgist, and discarded reason? Does the animal's pain not register in the gut, but merely in the intellect? I'm exaggerating of course, as the post wouldn't have been made, but hey, come on mate -- grab the bloody dog and express your empathy. I trust you get my drift....

[Note, I respect Buddhism above all religions, and love the Thais above all people, but domestic animals were introduced into Siam way after Buddhism was. Simply put - they do not belong there. They are not adequately appreciated. Cats, dogs (and even a kangaroo!) have been known to save human lives. They deserve better than the otherwise delightful Thai people are capable of.]

If you got through this then you deserve a medal. And, hey, say what you will - I shan't be returning to this post - it took all my emotional strength to even broach it.

[elfe]

well, if it was me, i would go over and grab the dog... but, if it is in an enclosed garden and the owners resist, what can you do, you cannot break in there and steal the dog? this is difficult and hard to witness helplessly. i only suggest that if you cannot just take the dog, then try to persuade the owners nicely that you have means to help the dog, maybe you know a better vet etc... if the dog dies then it was not your intention and your efforts to help did not succeed. just how i would handle it... i have been in similar situations and usually the owners were glad to give away the dog with which they were at wits end... but also had one case where the owner would not let take me a puppy to the vet which just had been hit by a car...

[tuffy]

I am very sad about this poor dog. If it were next door to me I could end my sadness in a second, but alas...

[Momentary dirgression: I read a quite likely apochryphal story (probably in 'Culture Shock') back in the early '90's about a Thai (Princess, I think) who, during a Royal Barge ceremony many many years ago who fell overboard. No one would help her, the story went, because that would put her under great obligation to the rescuer, who would most likely have been a person of lower status. I can understand the reasoning, as I've encountered a similar reluctance amongst the self-appointed 'higher stratas of society' to acknowledge even the slightest (needed, but unasked for) assistance from a person of lower status. Pathetic and sad, but rules are rules apparently.]

Recently I had occasion to deliver the coup de grace to a very young possum which had been hit and seriously injured (guts were visible) by a preceding vehicle. It was a windy wet and cold night, and the poor thing was trying to crawl out of harm's way. I made what could be called an executive decision, that is to say I took responsibility for the life/death of the poor creature. It's life's 'options' were zero. I shortened the odds and performed what a beneficent god would have approved of (said beneficent god not being in a postion to do anything, being non-existent).

Philosophically speaking, the possum and I were utterly and completely alone in the cosmos, it was in pain, or at least severe shock, and I, and I alone, could assist. The answer was breathtakingly simple.

I hesitated of course; it took me a few seconds to come to grips with the situation. I had to steel myself to do it, but do it I had to. To not do it would have caused me more pain than to not do it.

And as Shakespeare said, all is vanity...we do what we do for ourselves. (Though in my mind I apologised to the poor animal for my action).

I suffered for a while, but was grateful to my ability to end the baby possum's suffering. I had to steel myself, but I knew beyond any doubt that it's need for peace far outweighed my need for non-involvement.

Many years ago I was in a car with a girffriend when we came upon a kitten which had suffered a similar fate. I wanted to hit it over the head, to end its suffering. The girl objected. I acquiesced, much to my eternal shame. I acted 'like a girl'. She thought like a what? I still don't know. Her 'logic', her 'thinking', still escapes me. Well, sort of...she was wrong, I was right.

(That was back when I figured that women had all the answers).

So, where are we now with the poor dog situation? Nothing will stop me from consideration of retirement in Siam. I love the Thais. However, like all societies they possess serious flaws.

If the attitude of the dog's owners stems from Buddhism then I shall have to re-assess my attitude to this religion, and to the Thai people (not that anyone, including you, cares about what I think in this regard).

I heard a while back that the Thai education system does not teach independent thinking. This may or may not be true, but it would appear that at least in this dog situation it is true. Religions have a way of closing minds to suffering. I find this to be a weird thing. Human, but weird neverthless. It denotes a disconnectedness from the present, to which I do not relate.

Bambina states that 90% of vets would do the 'right' thing. This seems to me to be a very small percentage (it's a bit like saying that 90% of mothers love their their offspring). In Oz 100% of vets virtually insist of ending unnecessary suffering.

Frankly I am amazed that the OP couldn't figure out what to do. It's a bit like 'well the guy next door is sexually abusing his 8 month old daughter, should I do anything'? Has the OP perhaps drowned himself in the religious ethos, the zeitgist, and discarded reason? Does the animal's pain not register in the gut, but merely in the intellect? I'm exaggerating of course, as the post wouldn't have been made, but hey, come on mate -- grab the bloody dog and express your empathy. I trust you get my drift....

[Note, I respect Buddhism above all religions, and love the Thais above all people, but domestic animals were introduced into Siam way after Buddhism was. Simply put - they do not belong there. They are not adequately appreciated. Cats, dogs (and even a kangaroo!) have been known to save human lives. They deserve better than the otherwise delightful Thai people are capable of.]

If you got through this then you deserve a medal. And, hey, say what you will - I shan't be returning to this post - it took all my emotional strength to even broach it.

Yeahhhh....i will just jump over the fence and club the poor dog till its dead, sound advice....

[Mosha]

I agree that the dog should be put down. However, you must consider how important you relationship is with your neighbours. We had a kitten that had it's throat ripped out by a dog. Now I'm a soft sod, and told the boss I am not going to wait for the cat to die. (It was actually an abandoned kitten that our eldest cat adopted. She's good at that.) The vet couldn't save her and I asked for the obvious. My wife still says I killed the cat. She won't let me neuter cats anymore , otherwise it's me that gets it.

Maybe a trip to the vets explaining the situation. He might give you something that you can sneek to the poor dog.

[tuffy]

I agree that the dog should be put down. However, you must consider how important you relationship is with your neighbours. We had a kitten that had it's throat ripped out by a dog. Now I'm a soft sod, and told the boss I am not going to wait for the cat to die. (It was actually an abandoned kitten that our eldest cat adopted. She's good at that.) The vet couldn't save her and I asked for the obvious. My wife still says I killed the cat. She won't let me neuter cats anymore , otherwise it's me that gets it.

Maybe a trip to the vets explaining the situation. He might give you something that you can sneek to the poor dog.

That has been my back up plan but so far I still don't know what would be the best concoction to sneak to the poor guy to do the job in a humane manner.

Lately they have been giving him some pills (pain killers i assume). The crying is a lot less frequent now but still bad once in a while.

[Mosha]

I may be wrong, but I believe dogs have a serious reaction to coconut milk. My wife once poured some down a sick dogs throat trying to make it throw up. It was dead in a matter of a couple of minutes. Sounds callous I know.