Once
upon a time this blog was titled ‘Loving a Lhasa Apso’ and it applied first and
foremost to Simba who was my first Lhasa baby. My household has grown
since then and now I have two adult female Lhasa Apsos and three pups.
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| The first ever picture of baby Simba |
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| Simba as an adult |
At
9-years of age Simba was still in
his prime but I have come to accept that his time had come and that he had to
go. However, what still bothers me is the harsh and negligent medical care he
had received from the vet who over-medicated him for what was just an itch. First
though a short backstory: I had migrated from Mumbai to Pune in April 2013 and
was trying out a new vet whom I have decided not to name here.
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| Simba and Lasya during their last ever play session |
Besides
two courses of powerful antibiotics during a two-week period, this vet had also
prescribed a topical lotion called Tope Derm which includes a strong steroid as
I discovered later when he became obese
with trembling legs and difficulty in breathing within one month.
I
called up my old Vet in Mumbai Dr Makrand Chausalkar who advised path tests to
look for possible organ damage. The urine test showed negative but during his
last 6 months Simba’s immunity was clearly compromised leaving him frail with continued difficulties in breathing and walking. And these were only the external symptoms.
Meanwhile,
the first of the miracles came from Simba’s daughter Palden Michewa who had whelped a litter of four pups in September
2014, sired by Kayaraa’s Thumper. My
second puppy litter (Lasya’s being the first which was five years ago) and I
still found the birthing a miracle of life.
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| Mishi's litter of four pups during their initial days |
Mild-mannered Mishi surprised us all by becoming extremely possessive and protective mama who
wouldn’t allow her dam Lasya and her sire Simba near the pups! One day, Simba walked purposefully into the puppy nursery and checked out
only the male pup Dorje Kalden while we all held our breath collectively. Then he trotted out of the room in a childlike manner which I had found very
endearing. Later I felt it was almost as if he had wanted to ensure that this
male progeny could take the baton from him.
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| Brave little Dorje stood still while Simba checked him out! |
Simba’s
end had come shockingly quick due to gastro
enteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea from morning until before midnight and despite receiving timely treatment his small, damaged body simply could not
take any more stress. Then what scared me further and our new Vet Dr Kalhapure too was when
Lasya who had an old history of kidney and liver issues also showed the same symptoms of gastro a week later; we were both determined not to
lose her too.
The highlight of her day used to be playing with the pups in the garden and Lasya eventually came out of this illness, albeit weak and minus her gorgeous coat. With four small pups, a new mother
and an ailing adult to care for besides my own grieving, I often wondered if I was
doing enough. By then I had gone into a protective mode which even included the pups.
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| Malaika Fernandes surrounded and sharing love with her favourite buddies |
A
couple of months later, Malaika
Fernandes who is a certified dog trainer based in Mumbai and
had recently completed a course as pet communicator, announced that she wanted
volunteers to practice on. Lasya was still quite frail and had lost her joy of living. I needed to know
what was on her mind, and to comfort her if Malaika could reach out to
her.
What
emerged from this pet communication was simply amazing to me and to Lassie as
well. Lasya communicated to Malaika that she wanted more one-on-one time with
me. She surprised Malaika further by wanting to be well groomed! What's more, when I questioned her about this conversation Lassie’s
reaction was comically surprised: she looked zapped that I knew about it and then with a sheepish look she actually
shied away from me. Lol!
Feeling reassured, I
stretched myself to make sure that she wouldn’t feel neglected and as months
passed she rediscovered the joys of playing with the growing puppies and became
naughtier than them. My old Lasya was back! Until, probably due to an injury caused
during a play session with Dorje who is now a big male, Lassie suddenly could
not even stand when lifted down and had great difficulty during her walks.
Months
of treatment helped Lasya to walk about for limited periods and she needed to
be carried during her walks. A couple of people gently suggested euthanasia
which was absolutely unacceptable to me.
Then
one day, Lassie suddenly communicated with me asking if it was time for her to
go. I was shocked when I just heard these words in my mind while I was resting and
reached my hand out to her instantly with a big NO and projected a thought that
I would do everything in my power to get her well. At the same time Mishi suddenly
became panicked and came running into the room; she wouldn’t leave my side for
the next few days and needed to be reassured. I am not a trained communicator
like Malaika and was just as baffled as Mishi.
Then
Lasya displayed her natural instincts yet again and brought about her own
miracle. She began to suddenly crawl on cemented surfaces in what looked like a
doggy paddle swimming action.
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| Lasya poses for a picture while doing her exercise! |
This
has become her regular workout every chance she gets. The vet was baffled but
her gait was getting stronger and sprightlier, until one day she began to play
with the pups again, literally pulling a leg from under them and instigating
rough play… and just like that, my old ‘mad girl’ Lasya (now 8-years old) is
back, once again, and she still amazes everyone with her dedicated fitness
regime. Here's a link for a video of how she does it!
