Gamma Rantings...

•Wednesday, September 26, 2007•

SPCA, Gathering

I seem to be staggering through a haze of exhaustion day by day...

Every morning:

-Get dragged out of bed,
-Stagger all the way to the bus stop,
-In the bus, stagger to class,
-Fall asleep once i reach class,
-Rouse bleary-eyed when teacher enters
-Go back to sleep. (while teacher is teaching)

Not to mention the hacking coughs and occassional painful blocked nasal passage every morning...They think is some sinusitis-related thingy, considering my sinuses tend to feel pressured at the most inconvenient times. I'm not sure though, and frankly, I'm getting tired of it...I can't sleep with air-con or I'll wake up with a nose that is KILLING me...I can't hug my own dogs without sneezing, sniffling, and tearing away...jeez, and I wanna be a vet..............

SPCA was kinda sad today, though....

First there was Benjy. a male lab mix about 1 year old. Hyperactive fellow, full of boundless energy, and greeted me by nearly knocking me off my feet. Frankly, he looked the picture of health, just like any other lab that's overflowing with love. But according to his owner, he has partial trachea collaspe and heart inflammation. O.0"

Not wanting to judge, but the same guy told me his dog was mad for biting stuff and leaping on peole...=_=" (Then what're my dogs, huh???)

Next was the box of TEN puppies brought in b y a couple. Mind you, I was staring at their unique shade of dirty grey until they told me that the pups were originally WHITE!!! (Apparently they fell into a drain a day before...)

It was dead depressing when Rajes put all ten to sleep one by one...I cradled the very last one before turning it to its fate and began my well rehearsed speech on why euthanasia is necessary in SPCA...yada yada yada...

It has become apparent to me that I've hardened a lot since I joined SPCA so many months back. I find myself replying to each horrified "WHAT?? WHY???" from a visitor that has never been exposed to this, with building detachment, still a tinge of sadness, but a resignment that nothing can be really be done. I wonder whether this is good or bad...

10 siblings put to death one after another in the space of 10 minutes. It occured to me how fragile life is, how easy it can be taken away, and how everyone can be blissfully unaware of it...

Then when I was walking near the maternity area, I saw Rovie pacing about. Without any warning, she started straining, something that I wouldn't be worried about except for the fact that the dog had already been given an injection to expel her 3 DEAD puppies a day before! Why was there one more DEAD puppy in her?

EDIT: I CANNOT believe Christina actually said that the pup in that pic looked TASTY....O.o"

The saddest case was a very agressive dog that was brough in, though. Up till now, I have always been able to blame every agressive dog on lousy treatment from its owner. But this time...

A couple brought in a large, sleek mongrel but brutally agressive dog in hope that the SPCA could give their dog a chance to be rehomed. It was a vague chance, considering even their own vet had confirmed that their dog was better off euthanised.

Both Reve and I didn't want to believe it. We tried in vain to approach it, but the dog kept greeting us with bared teeth and threatening snarls, making it very clear that she would not hesitate to rip out a chunk of our flesh if we came any closer. I backed off tactfully, and watched as Reve. the pro in handling difficult dogs tried various methods to win the dog over.

In all my time in SPCA, I have yet to see a dog that Reve cannotwin over. Even Prince, who was too much for even the Doc to handle could be tamed by her (recalls suture removal experience with Prince)

As Reve took Rassi (the aggressive dog) outside with the leash to try and get acquainted, I resigned myself to the task of explaining to the lady why it was kinder to put her dog to sleep if Reve couldn't win her over, that it didn't have one chance in hell to get adopted, and how we couldn't accommodate it for safety and space reasons...She was crying, and as hardened as I said I became after all this while, I felt tears well up in my eyes as well.

I mean, how would you feel if someone came up to you and told you that your beloved dog was going to be put down, and that's because you had to surrender her there because you had to move to an apartment?!

We spent one whole hour with the dog, even letting it off-leash in the back field, and for a while, everything seemed hopeful...

However, aa Reve left the field, the dog attempted a savage bite again, catching onto her shorts. It was official then, that the dog was beyond help. She wasn't biting out of nervousness and fear like many other dogs do...She was biting out of sheer aggression...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My mood was kinda gloomy as I returned, and prepared to attend Sharon's birthday party that evening, but that cleared up after a while...

Btw, this is the present we got for her...Nice??

Credits to Christina and Winnie for helping me find it...Hehe...Mind you, it wasn't easy to go hunt for a pillow all around the mall, thn get the shop to design it...

Won't post much on the gathering..mainly the pics...

Oh yeah, in one of the parks near Sharon's house, I saw a white terrier tied to a garbage bin. Now WHAT, can someone tell me, WHAT IS A DOG DOING TIED TO A GARBAGE BIN WITHOUT SHELTER, FOOD, or WATER??!!

It was a young terrier, about 2 years old, seemed well fed, but not really well taken care of as it had matted fur along its legs. As I voiced my displeasure at seeing a dog left out like that, it became quite apparent to me that not many people would bother.

"Aiya, probably just left it there to do business la..."

"Maybe just bathe, so leave it to dry le..."

Well, whatever the excuse, there is no reason to leave a dog outside like that. It could get hurt, it could get sick, it could run away, it could get dognapped, and what if it rained, or the dog got bullied by kids, etc etc...

I called Pris, who understood the gravity of the issue, and told me to take the dog back if no one claimed it.

Well, the owner came quite some time later, and I was QUITE TEMPTED to chide him nicely for leaving his dog out there. However, I ended up not saying anything, but quietly wishing that dog all the best...

The gathering was pretty lively, though I spent most of my time chatting with Kim and Yen. Seems to me that its getting harder to communicate, as I'm way too far from the rest of the group. I'm taking a different course, different lifestyle, different, institution, that its getting harder to catch up with them...

All the same, we still SS-ed a lot. (pics below), and I won one round of Mahjong!!!!! Well, that was by luck, as I couldn't remember how to play, and I had Chu's help as well...hehe...

So yeah, here are the promised pictures of the gathering...(PS: my camwhore skills have improved..I actually managed to fit 5 heads in one pic!!!)

EDIT (C++ class) - Wednesday:

-Lecturer just gave us the most INSANE C++ assignment ever...*dies*...

-My ESLS Issue Analysis interview is done and over with! And I actually ENJOYED IT!!!

-Having a sore throat and runny nose...cold cold cold cold...='(

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ 0 comments

0 Comments: