CANINE DISTEMPER RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN

CANINE DISTEMPER RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD AGAIN

January 30 2011 CALL TO ACTION  Distemper in dogs raises its ugly head again. This is not a pretty picture please excuse me for it's graphic content

Last year we had an outbreak of Canine Distemper Virus In domesticated and feral dogs of Kasane, Botswana. In 4 years of service to the community I had not seen one case of this explosively deadly disease. I negotiated with relevant authorities for 9 weeks to try and get some support to vaccinate dogs. The main issue for me was that this is extremely contagious to the wildlife predator population. Lions, Cape (painted) Wild Dogs, Hyenas, Jackals and Leopards are susceptible to this virus. In the interim during the negotiation, 3 cases in infection resulted in over 100 dogs that were affected and died. These corpses were thrown into the bush were hyenas scavenge every night, they sub sequentially got infected and took the virus to lions and other predators.  Since sick animals go off to die it’s almost impossible to prove, as no carcasses were ever found or looked for.

Kasane is a unique ecosystem in that here we live in direct contact with wildlife. There are no fences or boundaries to separate us. It of course causes a lot of human wildlife conflict but not a subject for this current concern. A fact is that this last past dry winter when the ONLY water source is the Chobe River and ALL animals have to come daily to drink, the predators live by the river. Prey at this time is easy to catch and there is no reason for the lions and other predators to leave the waterfront. For the first time in over 30 years I have been visiting Chobe, there were 4 months, were no Lions were seen at waterfront. To my mind the only reason for that was they died of distemper.

I am currently applying for grants and have full backing from the Parks department to research what lion logistics are in this area. This will include satellite collar monitoring and full blood work for presence of antibodies to various diseases. I know in my heart that they will be positive for distemper exposure. In the interim 2 new prides of lions have moved in to Chobe probably migrating form Savuti or even Zimbabwe.  

My PRIMARY concern is that I have to take immediate action and vaccinate all dogs in this community, as I did last year. TIME is f the essence as I need to purchase vaccines from South Africa and coordinate with all proper authorities to execute this vaccination. Dogs will be vaccinated with 5- in- one and also Rabies and dewormed.  Tattoos will be placed in their ear to identify them for That was about $10 000.00 but that included blood works and all kinds of other expenses. I think I can get it done for about $5.00 /dog at an estimated cost of $5000.00

PLEASE THIS IS A SERIOUS ISSUE THAT CAN NOT WAIT TO BE EXECUTED. PLEASE DONATE WHAT YOU CAN SO I CAN GET THIS DONE. I HAVE NO OTHER SOURCE OF INCOME A THE MOMENT AND NEED YOUR HELP. You can donate through website, or if you like email me and I will send you bank account numbers in the USA and in Botswana. Let’s save suffering in hundreds of dogs and improve their quality of life and let’s prevent the spread into the wildlife population.  
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE.

Dr Clay

Zebby is flourishing and getting big

Zebby is flourishing and getting big. Still sucking down the skim milk and has not eaten grass yet

It turns out that Zebby is a stallion. This now presents various problems with rehabilitating him into the wild. Because of his sex, it's more than likely he will be attacked by alpha stallion and be killed. Of course Laura spends a lot of time with him and brushing his coat. I have nightmares of lions hiding in the bush waving their brushes in the air beckoning him.

He will have to go to a private game reserve were there are no predators and can live a long life. We intend on having school children come and visit and help with education about wildlife. It never fails to amaze me how their eyes light up with excitement and wonder and big smiles cross their face, To be able to see and touch such a creature stimulates their minds as to ow important their wildlife heritage is and how they are the future that will take over the huge burden we have placed on their shoulders. Education.education, education. Don't forget an ocean started as a simple drop of water.

In the interim 16 Liters of box milk goes down his gullet every day. Education can be expensive..

Lioness with Mastitis treated. Cubs saved

Lioness with Mastitis treated. Cubs saved.

Today we came across first pride of Lions I have seen in 4 months. I am so happy they have moved in. We saw 2 mature Golden Mane Lions, 3 juvenile males and 3 adult lionesses. Guides said they have seen 2 cubs about 3 months old. One female was in extreme discomfort with Mastitis. This is an infection of the breasts which causes inflammation and severe pain. The milk can go bad and the cubs may die

from bad milk. I loaded a dart with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory and a pain killer. I broke of the barb of the dart so it could inject and fall out and darted her. It’s amazing how they respond to treatment and I’m sure she will be healed in 24 hours, thereby also saving the cubs.

The rest of the pictures, after the dart was picked up, were a record of a typical day in Chobe.

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Article in South Africa's Toyota magazine

Article in South Africa's Toyota magazine

A bit more publicity. This author saw the humorous side of what I do. (Click Here for a PDF download, for clearer reading)

This article was printed in Toyota magazine its a bit Tongue in Check but still a good read. I was hoping Toyota would donate a new vehicle but as of yet no word from them.

How I spent Christmas Day 2010

How I spent Christmas Day 2010 (Graphic Operation Pictures)
I was awakened to call of distress from a client. Someone had thrown a brick on his dog so they could get into his yard and steal mangoes off the tree. 4 hours of surgery later and dog was stitched up. 

He was putting full weight on leg today and is happily wagging his tail. I don’t do much small animal work anymore as people here have a different perception of pets that in USA.  Sometimes I get it right...

Home Invader

Home invader
A day of work and a night of horror. Home invader confronted in Kitchen of  home.

I spent all afternoon traveling to rescue and treat a baby Zebra and was writing a letter when I heard a noise in the house, Below is copy Of email sent out to Kasane residents.

AFRICA CAN BE A VERY SCARY PLACE....

December 24 2010

Hello everyone

Please be aware that there are active thieves in town. I heard the gate to the kitchen squeak at 1:30 am on the 24th. I thought it may have been baby zebra walking in stoop. 5 minutes later I heard Minnie bark. I went to investigate and as I walked into kitchen there stood a Black man approximately 35 years old  5 ft 9 inches with short hair and a slight beard not 2 feet away from me. He had a large knife strapped to his chest and was wearing blue overalls. I had not locked the back door and he chipped away the wood on the panel. I ran to the bedroom to retrieve shotgun and pressed the panic button for Trojan the alarm company.

I ran back out and shot twice into the air but he was long gone. The 911 radio that has not been functional from day one was useless so I could not call for assistance. Trojan never responded. I locked Laura in bedroom and took land cruiser to search for him. From the car I dialed 911 and was immediately answered and they dispatched the police that were on scene within 10 minutes. I cannot imagine what could have happened if I was sleeping and he had free range of house. It is a very scary and angering episode. Please be aware and tighten your security.

I wish everyone a safe and prosperous Christmas and New Year,

It’s good to be home but could do without this episode.

Zebra Baby Rescued

Zebra baby rescued

On this day I was called by private citizen from farm town of Pandamatenga . This is a 100 kilometer drive one way. Unfortunately the only vehicle I had available was my large Dodge truck. The Zebras mother had been killed that morning by a pride of Lions and was rescued by a local resident. After calling me we had agreed i would drive out there if i would be re compensated for fuel. On arrival Zeby as we call her was in a fairly stable condition but had suffered shock.

I gave her subcutaneous fluids, antibiotics, worming and shock treatment. After a slight sedation we loaded her up in the backseat of the truck for the hour long drive home. Poor Laura had to sit with her in the back and she was leaning on her and occasionally would attempt to bolt. After awhile she went to sleep. 

I forgot to mention that when I left camp the person that called me rapidly disappeared without even saying goodbye. Five kilometers out of Kasane the truck that was full at beginning ran out of fuel. Fortunately I had a 5 liter can in the back. We arrived in Kasane to discover that there was not any fuel available anywhere in town. TIA. We managed to make it home.

Zeby was in stable condition and i mixed her a nice milk cocktail. I fortunately had a rubber nipple in the clinic. After she had a taste she hungrily drank down 2 bottles. We all felt much relief as we know that she will now survive. It now going to be feeding various times a day until she is old enough to start eating grass on her own. We have an enclosure in our back yard so she can move around.  As soon as she is old enough we will reintroduce her to a herd and hopefully she will be accepted. We will keep human contact to a minimum.

As for the tank of fuel promised nothing was ever mentioned. It cost me P700.00 to fill up the tank and this vehicle is a gas guzzler which i rarely use. I was so annoyed that this happened. Once again i get stuck with the expenses. There will be a lot of time and effort expended to rehabilitate this baby.

I wish there was a way I could keep human contact to a minimum. Africa is harsh and the lions also need to eat. 
At least this baby will get a second chance to live a full life...