A
woman on her early morning walk through the woods came across an
abandoned dog lying on his side. He seemed lifeless. It looked as if
his collar had been removed and he had been left there to die. But he
was breathing, just.
He
was a small dog and the woman managed to pick him up and carry him in
her arms. At home she placed him next to a bowl of fresh water. He
tried to drink but couldn’t. He could hardly stand up.
A
vet was urgently needed. On being examined at the veterinary clinic
in Alcantarila, it was confirmed he was suffering from pine
processionary moth poisoning. It turned out to be a very serious
case. Two experienced vets at the clinic said later it was the worst
they had ever seen.
The
dying dog was a ginger-haired, cross-breed weighing 6.9 kilos. He
looked like a pup but was probably about three years old. Without a
microchip, his background remained unknown. He needed a name. Under
the circumstances,‘Woody’ seemed a good choice.
The
small and inconspicuous adult processionary moth lays large numbers
of eggs high in the outer foliage of pine trees during the summer.
The resulting horde of caterpillars feed on the pine needles. For
communal protection, the caterpillars weave silken nests, light grey
in colour and prominently positioned. The growing caterpillars remain
in their nest by day, emerging to feed at night.
Processionary
caterpillars leave their nest for the last time in February or March
and move in unison down the tree. They parade across the ground, in
single-file head-to-tail lines a metre or more long, until they find
a suitable spot to burrow underground to pupate and turn into another
generation of moths.
While
on the move in this characteristic way by day, the caterpillars are
notoriously dangerous. On being intercepted or disturbed, they
release fine, toxic hairs that cause painful skin irritations, rashes
and sometimes much worse.
There
is no mystery to any of this. Warning stories are published in the
local press every year. In a letter to the editor published recently,
someone living on a campsite complained he had been “infected by
these pests to a horrific degree.... I have suffered intensely for
over five weeks.”
Dogs
that inquisitively sniff or lick processionary caterpillars usually
end up with infections that cause their lips and tongue to greatly
swell. It is not uncommon for a dog to loose much of its tongue.
Woody
must have gone further than sniffing or licking. He must have eaten
one or more caterpillars. This inflamed his stomach and in the
clinic he vomited blood. His condition was such that the vets doubted
he could survive.
The
treatment started with cortisone injections, mouth washing and drugs
to line the stomach and stop the vomiting. There followed regular
doses of antihistamine, antacid, antibiotic and pain-killing
medications . He was on an intravenous saline drip laced with glucose
and vitamins 24 hours a day for six days, with monitoring continuing
through the weekend.
On
the seventh day, having shown almost miraculous improvement, Woody
was released from his enclosure in the clinic and allowed to return
to the home of his rescuer. She already had three dogs, now she had
four.
The
newcomer remained on medication and was kept under close observation.
His health and vitality steadily improved day by day and eventually
surpassed all expectations.
Woody
is now eating well and brimming over with energy and enthusiasm. He
knows his name and has totally integrated. He’s lost more than a
quarter of his tongue - but his tail doesn’t stop wagging.
Woody being treated in the veterinary clinic at Alcantarilha.
