Friday, March 24, 2006

The Bird Flu Incident

What would you do if your dog came over with a dead bird in its mouth in the middle of the huge bird flu scare we’re experiencing in Egypt these days?

That is exactly what happened to us the other day. Can you imagine that – a dead bird! Naturally, H (my wife) freaked out. Big time. Unfortunately, I was away at the time so she had to handle that on her own. First thing she did was call the bird flu hotline number that is shoved down our throats a Gazzilion times a day. Nobody answered! So much for the heightened state of readiness of our government. We start calling up vets that we know and most confirm that dogs have not so far been known to be infected by (or carry) the virus. We calm down a bit. Next question: what to do with the bird? Answer: careful handling of the carcass (with gloves) and burning the bird in the garden with the assistance of H’s dad. Poor D (our dog) had to be quarantined for a while and so far things look OK (some time has passed since then). Freaky, isn’t it?

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