Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Bad year for the animals?

2006 has been a very bad year for the animals of the Murphy household, with deaths, near deaths and hospitalization. Here is a breakdown: -

1. Rags.
Rags got knocked down earlier this year and was hospitalised for days. Thank God she didn't break any bones, but she suffered severe shock and needed an operation to patch up her legs. Quick, efficient veterinary care was what got her back on her feet, and she is now fully recovered.

2. Muffin
My little baby had been on heart tablets for over a year, but her death in June was still sudden. She was only nine years old and her final illness was sudden, less than 24 hours long and totally unexpected.

3. Janna
Due to poor nutrition and being in kennels, Janna had to be hospitalised for almost a week within a fortnight of joining her new home. She was severely dehydrated and needed to be on a drip for several days. I don't think her illness was potentially fatal, but it was serious enough because of her poor condition. A lot of time was spent visiting the vets and getting tablets.

4. Blueberry
Blueberry was knocked down in July, a near fatal accident, and broke his jaw. After eight years of dodging traffic, you would think he could have managed to avoid cars, but this time he used up one of his nine lives. His jaw had to be wired and he had to be kept inside for 6 weeks. He is fully recovered now, thankfully, but his jawline isn't quite the same as it was.

5. Woozer
Ok, she hasn't been hospitalised or in a near fatal accident, and she got a clean bill of health from the vet, but at 13 years old she is struggling day by day. She has a bulging growth over her left eye, a spongy growth coming out the back of her head, artritis, pants incessantly and her body looks quite saggy. She doesn't truly qualify as having a bad year, but like having a chronic bad couple of years.

6. Cori
Staked himself jumping over a fence on the night of the hurricane. He was very fortunate he didn't die from shock, blood loss or infection, but as he managed to survive all that, he is looking good for recovery. Looking at the hole, it is hard to imagine it will ever heal, but then again, I thought the same with Rags and Blue.

That only leaves Fudge and J.B to have avoided serious injury so far this year. With a couple of months left to go in 2006, should these poor furry things be worried? I am.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

You better wrap Fudge up in cotton wool for the next 3 months! it would take a lot of cotton wool for JB though!

Anonymous said...

Poor Woozie sounds sooooo sick. YOu forgot to mention that she still begs (bad habit) and likes to go for walks.

Anonymous said...

Well i am hoping that JB and Fudge are off the hook and remember
1. Fudge had loads and loads of problems with his ear last year including the damage caused by an incompenant person and all the re infections
2. JB had loads of problems last year too and had the vet out 3 times in the first 5 months and was off work for ages plus all his lameness later on in the year

while none of the above were life threatening both animals have had their share of illness and that is why i think they are off the hook. the others just wanted to catch up, and sadly, overtake

Anonymous said...

I think you have an excellent point Michele.