The Orphans

Orphaned animals come into the clinic on a pretty regular basis. They include dogs and cats that have been abandoned by their owners or puppies and kittens that have gotten lost or been rejected by their mother. In the wild, rejection of offspring is thought to be a mechanism of natural selection. The mother invests her time and energy into the babies that are most likely to survive and go on to have offspring of their own. 

However, as a person and a vet-in-training, my primary instinct is to want to help the orphaned animals, and I couldn't help but become emotionally attached to one of this week's patients. 

A client brought in a small pitbull puppy whose mother had picked it up by the head and shaken it around violently, causing trauma to the skull and brain. When we first saw the puppy, it was crying continuously, its head and face were extremely swollen, and its nervous function was so impaired that it could hardly walk. By the next day, however, the puppy's condition had improved tremendously. The swelling had gone down, pain had diminished, and mobility had improved (despite the fact that it was circling to the right). The veterinarian's were very pleased with the progress, and I spent the morning monitoring (but mostly cuddling) the puppy. When the owners came in later, they decided that they did not have the time or the money necessary for the dog to make a full recovery, and they chose to euthanize the dog. 

Unfortunately, this type of situation occurs in veterinary practices all over the world, not just Africa, and is one of the most frustrating parts of a veterinary career. The animal had a good chance at a full recovery, but wasn't given the opportunity. All I could do was gently pet the animal as the vet administered a lethal dose of phenobarbitone. 

Fortunately, later in the week, I had the opportunity to meet two more orphans and on a much happier note. Erik (the wildlife vet) and his wife Marlize (another one of the vets in the practice) have been given the honor (and challenge) of raising two orphaned wild animals: Kali the leopard and Kelele the lion. The two originally lived in Marlize and Erik's house (along with 6 dogs and 8 cats), and then moved to large cage. Recently, they built an extensive outdoor confinement area including trees to climb and a jungle gym to allow more freedom of movement. They will likely spend the rest of their lives in the backyard because they would not be able to survive in the wild.  

It was incredible to be able to see (and touch) such beautiful animals so close up. They have become so used to human contact that they let Marlize and her daughter play with, pet, and kiss them, just like any other pet. However, Kelele and Kali's natural instincts are still there, and we were warned not to make sudden movements around the leopard and told that the lion likes to "play rough." Overall, I was happy to see that the leopard and the lion will have the happy ending that the little pitbull puppy unfortunately did not.