Today Online
You sneeze, it suffers
Don’t jump to conclusions – your pet may not be the cause of your allergies
05:55 AM Jun 17, 2009
by Dr Tan Chek Wee
FOR years, he was the centre of attraction, a cute little puppy in a family of two elderly parents and an unmarried son.
Then one day the son got married and soon, a child came along.
The child developed a frequent running nose and she was taken to a general practitioner nearby. The GP asked if there were pets in the flat. When the dog was mentioned, the doctor right away identified the dog as the cause.
Since then, the dog has been barricaded in a small corner of the kitchen. His fur is now matted and his nails are long. There are bits of faeces stuck to the fur. He jumps and barks in excitement whenever there are visitors, but no one picks him up, pats him on the head, bathes him or takes him for walks.
I have offered to adopt the dog but the child’s mother said her husband might not be willing to part with it.
I feel sad and helpless.
I can only appeal to my fellow doctor colleagues: Please refer a child with suspected allergies to a specialist to be tested for allergies. Do not make sweeping statements.
Even if the child is laboratory-tested and is allergic to a pet, it is not necessary to so drastically isolate a pet.
There are humane ways to allow allergic people to coexist with a pet. As a last resort, find the pet a good home.
The pet is not guilty.
