Noelnadesan's Blog

‘Doctor, I accidentally hit my dog while driving. I’m really worried and feeling terrible. Could he have any internal injuries? Please help.”

A woman with a British accent called and pleaded over the phone. I then dispatched my nurse to assist in bringing her dog to the clinic.

Within 30 minutes, they brought in the dog, which was lying on a blanket. My nurse gently placed him on the table in the consultation room, and I started examining him. The dog, a 15-year-old male Doberman, as per the owner, didn’t look hopeful. His hindquarters showed little movement, but his head and front legs seemed normal.

I told the owner that the lumbar spinal cord could be hurt due to the accident, as the dog lost feeling in its hind legs. To confirm this, an X-ray was scheduled for the next day to assess the extent of the injury.

The woman felt very guilty and asked me to do everything possible to help her dog, as cost was not a concern for her. Later, while examining the dog lying down, it suddenly bit my hand in severe pain. The woman was alarmed and kept apologising profusely. Being bitten by an animal during an examination was familiar to me and considered part of my job. Meanwhile, if someone gets bitten by a dog in Australia, they typically receive antibiotics and recover quickly.

As for my homeland, Sri Lanka, rabies is endemic, and a dog bite can be fatal.

As I examined the injured dog, my thoughts travelled back to 1980.

Soon after graduating as a veterinary surgeon, I started working in Medawachchiya, North Central Province, as a Government Veterinary Officer. One sunny morning, a staff member hurried in and asked, “Doctor, a dog bit Bandara’s goat. Could you take a look?” I was already familiar with Bandara, who lived in a village roughly 6 miles from Medawachchiya.

We hurriedly rode to his house on my motorcycle. Bandara explained that his dog had bitten his goat and his son; in anger, he shot the dog. After some questions, I learned these events happened a week earlier. I saw the goat was unsteady, unable to stand, and licking its body incessantly. Ironically, Banda was very disappointed with his goat but showed no concern for his son, continuing to send him to school despite the dog bite.

I insisted that he admit his son to Anuradhapura Hospital immediately. The poor goat was trying to find relief by licking her entire body, but rabies had already taken hold. After euthanising the goat to prevent suffering, I decapitated it and sent its head for a pathology examination at the Medical Research Institute in Colombo.

A few days later, I visited the hospital to check on Bandara’s 13-year-old son, Podi Singho, and found him in a dark room, confined alone.

The doctor who examined the boy was a friend of mine. He said the symptoms matched rabies, which had affected his entire body. I’ve seen many dogs and goats with rabies, but a boy affected by it was something new to me. When he saw a cup of water, he jumped in shock, screamed, and shivered violently. His voice changed, sounding like a dog’s whine. It was sad to see the young boy like that. This condition is commonly called hydrophobia.

If a hydrophobia patient sees light or feels a breeze, they are very likely to become violent with tremors. It was such an unbearable experience that I couldn’t stay there any longer.

A staff member asked me how long the boy’s suffering would last. I silently shrugged, overwhelmed with despair, and chose not to speak on the day the boy would meet his creator (the Almighty).

Naturally, my homeland is full of Podi Singho. When I hear that anti-rabies serum isn’t available for dog bite victims in Northern Sri Lanka, even during the long war, Podi Singho’s image immediately comes to mind for clear reasons.

I need to stop dwelling on my past to focus on the owner who hit the dog and is also feeling guilty. It wasn’t easy dealing with a crying client, especially a woman.

 It took nearly an hour to persuade the British-accented woman that her dog’s spinal damage could not be cured at this age; alleviating pain was the only solution. She hesitated but eventually agreed to euthanise her Doberman, then left, tearful.

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