Santa Cruz, Galapagos
One Saturday, Damster was not a very well-behaved dog and decided to eat three little chicks… According to his guardian, he chased them and swallowed them one by one, so quickly that it was not possible for the family to get to him and stop him before it was too late.
As if from Karma, Damster almost immediately got sick; he stopped eating, started vomiting and experienced excessive pain in his abdomen. Damster’s young guardian knew there was something wrong and rushed him to the clinic straight away.
The Doctors checked the pup for an obstruction but, although his abdomen was painful, there did not seem to be an obstruction present. For now, Damster was free from surgery. Due to his condition, however, the Doctors decided to keep the pup in the clinic for observation and continual treatment. The team built Damster a nice bed in a quiet corner of the clinic so he could rest and be comfortable for his stay in the clinic. As soon as the pup was in his new bed another symptom presented itself – diarrhea.
Dr. Stella and Dr. Justin started Damster on a number of medications (including antibiotics, anti-emetics and painkillers) to help improve the pup’s condition. It took some time before Damster wanted to eat again, and he scared the Doctors a few times with low blood sugar – one time resulting in a hypoglycemic attack. Despite his initial unwillingness to eat, Dr. Stella and Dr. Justin’s treatment worked and Damster slowly began to improve. Volunteer Ingrid was particularly helpful for the little pup in his healing process. She spent long hours hand feeding the little pup, first with sugar water through a syringe, and later whole foods. When Damster just needed to rest, he would spend the time sleeping next to Ingrid, on her desk.
Eventually, Damster started eating better, moving around and eventually even crying for attention. At one point, the little pup began searching for food in all parts of the clinic, and started to get his mischievous nature back. It was then that the team knew that the pup was well enough to return home.
Damster then returned happy and healthy to his family home – hopefully with a better idea about the consequences of eating things he’s not supposed to eat…
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