My new friend Emmett, who came to visit on the weekend, has a splendid head of hair.
He’s a German wirehaired pointer, so The Boss tells me, which the Germans bred for a weather-resistant version of their shorthaired pointer, the famous GSP.
And weather resistant he is. His hair covers his face so much that he has to shake his head now and then to get a better view, but it doesn’t seem to bother him — I guess it is all he knows.
He’s lanky and energetic and gave New Boy a run for his money around the yard while I stood back and barked, just to show I was the senior dog with a modicum of good sense.
Emmett has a brother named Winston, who apparently comes to see him now and then — but last time he turned up Winston had a harrowing surprise in store.
Emmet’s owners, who were doing the dog-sitting, became concerned when Winston’s heart rate was racing and wouldn’t quieten down. His eyes started to stare in an odd fashion, and they decided to take him to a vet to get him checked out.
By then, Winston’s heart rate was getting up around 180 beat per minute and the vet said he needed to stay overnight so they could watch him, but it kept getting worse; they eventually found a way to calm him down after they tested him and found cocaine in his system.
A few delicate questions were asked until they learned that Winston had been to local park that afternoon, where he apparently picked up the small ziplock bag and scoffed it down; it had the cocaine in it and the zip must have started to leak and his heart rate went up more and more as it leaked into his stomach.
Anyway, Winston survived to be the pointer of the story but, without quick action by the vet it could have been different. It’s yet another peril for any curious hound inclined — like myself — to taste first and ask questions later.
The Boss says it’s not just dogs that are at risk from careless human behaviour: there’s an increasing number of fish being found with drugs in their bodies.
National Geographic recently reported how “cocaine sharks” have been detected off the coast of Rio de Janeiro: researchers dissected 13 sharks accidentally caught by local fishermen and found cocaine in the muscle and liver tissues of all 13 fish.
They say illegal drug production labs must be releasing substances into wastewater, which ends up in the ocean.
Scientists have also detected traces of coke and other illegal drugs near large cities such as London. Their research on fish eyes found the drugs can affect the fish’s vision and they are concerned about reproductive issues, as well as their ability to hunt effectively.
Other studies have shown that trout, like we have in the cooler waters of the Goulburn above Seymour, can become addicted to methylamphetamine when exposed to concentrations like those seen downstream of wastewater plants. The trout in the studies showed signs of withdrawal and being less active, so less able to feed.
The Boss doesn’t know what effect meth has on Murray cod but says it can’t be good. He said the latest report from the National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program showed Australia was now third for meth in wastewater out of 25 tested countries — not the kind of leadership of which we can be proud. Woof!