14. A canine coup d'etat

"Why did you go to the SPCA at 2 pm to abort the scheduled euthanasia of this old dog?" I asked the couple who requested me to euthanase the dog as it was in poor haelth. One lethal injection and the vet gets his payment for his services.

"It was mum who sent the dog to the SPCA," the wife said. "She is very old and is unable to take care of the dog for my brother who is in hospital now."

This case reminded me of the various coup d'etat in Thailand. A coup is the sudden unconstitional removal of a legitimate government. In this case, the legitimate owner is in hospital. If his faithful companion who sticks to him through thick and thin is put to sleep suddenly, there will be reactions.

I asked the couple to ask the two pre-teen children to wait outside the examination room and advised: "The owner will find that the veterinary certificate of euthanasia with the cause that the dog is in poor health or cancer is incredulous. There will be high emotions and possibly bodily harm to family members. High emotions may lead to mental instability and murders."

The couple was silent for a while. They had not anticipated such extreme possibilities.

"You know the owner's temperament well," I said. I could also foresee litigation and even my demise by attackers unknown, due to acts of vengeance. My retribution for euthanasia of an old dog in a canine coup d'etat. This scenario sounds hilarious to you readers, but murders of passion do occur in any society.

Such cases must be handled carefully by the vet. Written permission must be obtained from the real owner. Analyse what is the problem. The main problem seems to me that the mum could not care for the dog. The solution was for me to board it at minimal cost. The couple took the dog home after 7 days.

I did not follow up such cases since I don't have the funds to help out the owner. A "PDSA" institution like that in the UK for dog owners unable to pay private vet fees will be good for such cases but nobody in Singapore has got one started.