PROVIDING CAREGIVERS WITH SEDATIVES/ANAESTHETICS FOR THEIR COMPANION ANIMALS PRIOR TO TRAVELLING

Last week I promised to expand on my dissatisfaction with (even considering) giving specific medications (vaccines, sedatives, anesthetics) to pet clinic clients/pet caregivers for them to administer (or have administered) to their pets.
Last week we dealt with reasons for vets’ unwillingness to give pet owners/dog breeders vaccines to administer to their animals. I also constantly advise my colleagues against giving/selling vaccines even to para-professionals (e.g. Animal Health Assistants) who practise without veterinary supervision.
Today we will continue this theme, focusing on my absolute opposition to providing sedatives/ anesthetic to clients/persons to administer to their pets just prior to embarking on an international or local flight, purportedly because of the view that the pet does not travel well.
Sedatives/anesthetics are not just any drugs. Only qualified and experienced veterinarians are allowed, by law, to administer such chemicals to animals. If a pet is already ailing, then the owner/caregiver/agent should never attempt to sedate such an animal. Any mistake in the dosage rate or choice of drug can have disastrous consequences.
I should add that the sedating/anesthetizing of wildlife (non-domesticated animals) prior to travelling over long distances should be done only by veterinarians who are experienced in this particular area of veterinary practice.
I have experienced a particularly concerning episode involving the translocation of an adult tapir from Georgetown to Annai. For whatever reason, and against better judgment, instead of making a non-stop trip, and unbeknownst to the vet, the owners decided to go off course to Rockstone, to spend what turned out to be too long a stopover. The tapir began to emerge from the anesthesia, and the owners could not provide any meaningful assistance to placate the awakening animal. Luckily, some burly carpenters carrying out a nearby construction exercise were able to lend a helping hand to stabilize the cage and give the animal a correctly calculated amount of extra sedative/anesthesia.
I mention this episode because it could have been a situation wherein the accompanying personnel may be non-knowledgeable about the animal (wildlife) species and administer an incorrect dosage.
We call the tapir a “bush cow”. A member of the bovine family it is not. Some people think the tapir belongs to the pig family. A pig it is not. Most scientists agree that the tapir belongs to the family of horses. Further, the Malaysian (black and white) tapir is not the same as its cousin in South America. The wool tapir, whose habitat was in the highlands of Mexico, seems to have become extinct.
The point I am making is that one cannot administer swine/bovine medication dosage to an equid (horse) type animal. In addition, we still do not know (from specific research) which sedative/anesthetic would yield the optimal effect in the various species of wildlife, even if they are closely related. Some experience and a commonsensical approach are crucial to yielding the best results.
The tapir did arrive safely in the caring hands of Mr. Edwards, the owner/manager of the wonderful Rock View Eco Resort in Annai, where it was a star attraction for the many happy years of its existence.
I deviated on the topic at caption primarily to reinforce my position against providing selective/ anesthetic medication to persons who feel their pets would be too agitated and discomfited in travelling from Point A to Point B.
The two situations below have been included to further emphasise my position on this matter:
In a scenario where the veterinarian gives the pet owner, say, five tablets to sedate the companion animal (presupposing that the vet knows the animal’s weight and health status), and then that same caregiver or his/her agent goes with the same sob story to five other vets, and receives each time the same 5 tablets of the sedative/ anesthetic, the pet owner would have a total of 30 tablets of the sedative/ anesthetic.
Let’s carry this story a bit further. A veterinarian, being a caring person, might just succumb to a request; after all, five tablets of the drug for the dose is no big thing, right? Wrong! What if the recipient of the tablets has some emotional distress and decides to use these 30 sedative/anesthetic tablets on him/herself – and dies? You see where I am going with this?
A human doctor (yes, right here in Guyana) begged a vet for some anesthetic tablets we use comfortably on cats prior to surgery, but also use on humans. The medication was then in short supply. The vet had no qualms sharing the drug with a colleague in need. During a conversation with another vet, the story was told. It turned out that the doctor was using the anesthetic tablets for nefarious purposes. The matter was reported to the Medical Board, and to their praiseworthy action, the medical doctor was removed from the Practitioners Register.
I think the point is well made.
Next week we will offer some workable proposals relative to this matter of travelling with one’s pet.
HAPPY CARICOM DAY!