Hello, my name is Ben. I really hope you can spare a few minutes to read my story.
I was born in Spain, but no-one there wanted me so I was living on the streets until a lovely couple from the UK met and fell in love with me. They took me home to live with them in Spain.
They were returning to the UK to live permanently so they did it all properly and started my Pet Passport by getting me micro chipped and vaccinated against RABIES so that I could travel home with them and off we set.
On the long drive to my new home we stopped in France so I could meet my new Auntie. She has CATS!! I got a bit excited and started chasing them but cats can jump much better than I can and I fell from a balcony and hurt my front legs. The pain was terrible. My Mum and Dad took me to see a French vet to see if I could still make the journey home. He said that as long as I went to see a vet in the UK as soon as I got there I could travel. I had to go to a Quarantine Kennel for a while to serve out my time before going to my new home, so I could see the vet there. The French vet said that both my front legs were broken and he bandaged them up to keep them safe on my journey.
After a trip on a really big boat, which was very exciting, I was met by the people from the Quarantine Kennel who told me how brave I’d been and what a good boy I was. They said they’d ask their vet, who is a very kind man, to look at my legs and see if he could make me better.
The vet gave me an injection which made me very sleepy so he wouldn’t hurt me when he examined me. But when he looked at my legs and examined the x-ray he found that they were broken very badly. He had to phone my Mum and Dad to tell them that he didn’t know if he would be able to fix me. And if he did, he didn’t know whether I’d ever be able to run or chase a ball (or a cat!) again. And that would be no life for an active little chap like me I can tell you.
So my Mum and Dad thought hard about what would be kindest for me. They knew that I would never be truly happy if I couldn’t run and frolic, no matter how much they loved me so they made the decision to let me stay sleeping peacefully and not to wake me up. It broke their hearts but I realise they did it out of love and I know they made the right choice.
Because when I was put to sleep I was in Quarantine, Government vets had to do some tests on my brain to make sure I didn’t have Rabies. And guess what? The first test they did came back positive for Rabies!!! Well. I was stunned, Mum & Dad were stunned, the Quarantine Kennels and vets were stunned. The government vets have gone off to do more tests, but I don’t see how I can un-catch Rabies?!
So, everyone I met on my journey from Spain to the UK now has to have Rabies prevention treatment. My Mum and Dad, my Auntie and her family (and cats) in France, the Quarantine staff, the Quarantine vets and their staff all need treatment. I’m just grateful that I was in Quarantine and not allowed to just go straight home. Can you imagine how many people and animals I would have come into contact with whilst exploring my new domain? How many people could I have put at risk without even knowing? I could have given people Rabies just by giving them kisses!!
I know this has broken my Mum and Dads hearts, my Mum has even had to see her Doctor because she is so very upset by what has happened to me. But I look at it this way, if I hadn’t broken my legs whilst chasing cat’s, I would have developed full blown Rabies, despite being vaccinated against it. It’s a truly horrific disease which would have affected my brain and I may even have turned on and bitten the ones who love and care for me. Maybe even my Mum and Dad!
At least this way they can remember the sweet happy little dog they adopted. I look down on them, guarding them from above and wag my tail and wiggle my ears remembering all the love and kindness they showed me.
Please don’t let their loss and pain have been for nothing. Please, please don’t let another family have to go through what mine have.
Ben
Note: The above story is true and has happened within the month October 2011, IF this had happened after January 2012 and the new regulations for pet imports were in place this dog would have been in contact with many, many more people and domestic animals without anyone ever being aware that he was possibly carrying Rabies. The implications are endless.
For any further clarification or details please contact your local AHVLA office:
http://animalhealth.defra.gov.uk/about/contact-us/postcode.asp
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