It has been a long time since I wrote my last update, far too long probably. There are several reasons for this long delay in postings. One reason being my other activities for a sighthound rescue organisation called Voordewindhond. Another reason is that the day after my last posting on Sunanda's blog, something terrible happened. On August 6th I was walking Isis, my old Spanish lurcher and Sunanda together. Both Sunanda an Isis were on a leash, and suddenly Isis was attacked by a dog which was off leash in an area where dogs are not allowed to be off leash. The dog grabbed Isis by the neck and pulled her down. Isis laid on the ground screaming, Sunanda pulled at her leash in total panick and I tried to pull the attacking dog from my old Isis. However, as soon as I tried to get hold of the attacking dog, the owner, who was standing near by and not doing anything until then, grabbed me from behind by the shoulders and shouted that I had to let go of his dog. I my attempt to get away from the angry man, Sunanda's leash slipped from my wrist, and she ran away.
What followed were 8 frantic hours, in which Sunanda ran around in total panick and ended up on the nearby highway. Several cars had to make an emergency stop and the traffic police was alarmed. The drivers who had to stop tried to catch Sunanda, but she became even more scared and ran away again. After 8 hours she found me again and was so happy to see me again that she jumped right into my arms. I can not begin to describe the relief I felt at that moment. I was so shocked by all that happened that day, that I just could not write anything in her blog for a long time.
After this horrible nightmare, Sunanda developed a strange skin rash on the right side of her body. It stretched from behind her elbow to her right flank and started behind her elbow with some small pustules. The pustules would open and crusts appeared, leaving small wounds and a very irritated skin. However, it did not itch. I found it very odd, and since I have worked for a homeopathic veterinarian, I thought that this strange rash would require just that, a homeopathic consult from the vet I used to work for.
I made an appointment and took Sunanda to the vet. She was very patient with Sunanda and took a long time to take her full history and find a suitable remedy. Once she found a suitable remedy I was given instructions to give the remedy every three days. Well, she needed only one dose, and I have not needed to repeat the dose. After some initial aggravation of her symptoms, she changed dramatically. Not only did her skin heal completely and the pustules have not come back again, she also has become a lot less scared of strange people. In fact she is now curious after new people we meet!
She is also a lot calmer, less destructive, and comes immediately when I call her. She has become the "perfect" hound (OK, she was already perfect, but she needed to heal from all her past experiences first).
Next, in the beginning of November, Sunanda came in heat. I don't know whether this is her first heat or not, nor how often she will come in heat. But judging from the way she behaved, and the way her body and her demeanor have changed, I am guessing this was her first heat. She will be three years old in January and I know it is not uncommon for oriental sighthounds to come in heat for the first time so late.
It is very cold now over here, with snow and ice, and Sunanda has a very warm coat, which I made for her. Her skin is so thin, and she does not have any undercoat whatsoever, so she really needed something to keep her warm during wintertime.
I will post some pictures of Sunanda in her coat over the next few days.
She really is an extraordinary hound indeed!
No comments:
Post a Comment