Dear Editor,
I am writing this letter in hopes that it makes it to your local paper. See, I have a story to tell. My family recently moved here and have settled into our new place just nicely. So happy to be living on a farm again after 20 years of living in town. But there are downsides to living out in the country. It’s called mouse poison. A silent, deadly killer to those pests that cause us so many problems. But it’s a killer to our family pets as well. See, the kind man that sold us his place had put some in his shop many years ago, not foreseeing the deadly hazard to our family dog. And I want to make myself very clear, I do not blame anyone for what happened. It is what it is. So on a sunny day, my daughter and I head out to the city and said our goodbyes to my husband, proudly working in his new shop. He left for town as parts were needed. But he did not know that our little Tikka was in the shop and closed the door. When he returned she was waiting for him in the shop happy to have company. In the time he was gone, about four hours, she found that mouse poison. And of course she would, that’s what dogs do, they explore their world.
So a couple of days go by and she starts to vomit, walks around the house aimlessly and her breathing is labored. So I take her to the Barr North Vet Clinic. Now these are the people this community needs to be proud of. I took my Tikka in and Chris was the doctor that looked at my sick little dog. He knew right away what was wrong. He gave her the Vitamin K she desperately needed to start clotting her blood. We weren’t sure how much she ate, so he wanted to see her the next day. He even called me that night to see show she was. Let me tell you, I’ve never had any doctor do that. Ever!
Over night she got way worse. I called him at 6:30 in the morning scared she wasn’t going to make it. He told me to come in and that we needed to buy her some time. And the only way to do this was to give her a blood transfusion. By the time I got there, his wife, Cerah also a doctor, was there with their neighbours dog Coco. So Chris knew what was needed and organized it the night before. Can you believe that, someone I’ve never even met before, would freely have their dog have a needle put into its neck. To take that lifesaving blood my Tikka desperately needed to buy her time, for that Vitamin K to start working. So that’s exactly what Cerah and Doctor Derk and his assistant Shelly did. They drew that lifesaving blood from the best dog in the world Coco and gave it to my weak dog that was fighting for her life. As they did this, my family and I were coming and going and so worried and they never said one single word. They were all so kind and loving and anyone who has been in that clinic knows they are cramped for space.
So as my girl fought for her life, her lungs filled up with blood making it feel like she was drowning. Cerah did what she had to do to help give her more time, she drained her lungs. Again that night at 10 p.m. Doctor Jason and Chris did the task of draining her lungs. So as the day turned into night, Coco and his family became number one in my family’s books. The blood Coco gave Tikka was working and the Vitamin K was doing the clotting that would save her life. It actually brings tears to my eyes and makes me grateful for people who care about others they know nothing about. Changing the world, one heart at a time. I still have not met Coco’s family but please know how better of a world this place is because of people like you. And to the amazing work they do at that Clinic. I’ve dealt with other clinics in the last two years but I did not get the treatment I got in Barrhead.
To end my story brings me great sadness, because last week my little dog who struggled so hard with Coco’s lifesaving blood, got ran over in front of our place in Neerlandia. She was finally herself. Demanding I play fetch with her, wanting her cuddles while I had my morning coffee on the couch. I am so grateful to Coco and his family for the extra time they gave us with our little Tikka Turd, as we called her. She was truly a gift and will be missed by my family. I also want people to know the risks of mouse poison not only to pets but to our children. And I also would love to see people call the vet clinic and give your name if you have a larger family pet that could give blood. I’ll never forget what Doctor Cerah said to Coco as she snuggled him to help keep him calm. She said, “Coco, you have a pretty good doggy life, so you should be doing this for Tikka, she’s in trouble.” Then she gave him a big old dog kiss. What an amazing bunch of people.
Rachelle Bouchard
