US autopsy for pompek

Sherida Baksh, of Rushworth Street, is flying with her dead pompek Tammy to Las Vegas, USA, later this month to have an autopsy performed on the dog to prove that local veterinarians were negligent in their diagnosis and treatment of the pet when it got sick.

Baksh, 36, meanwhile is keeping the dog, which she had for about nine years, in a freezer until it is transported abroad. Baksh has already sought legal advice and her lawyer, Rennie Gosine has written the vet asking for copies of Tammy’s medical records, noting that the dog “was negligently treated”.

Yesterday, Baksh, on the brink of tears, told Newsday, “The reality hasn’t hit me yet that Tammy has died. I am still going through all the processes of dealing with a death of a close loved one. If the reality had hit me I would still be crying down the place.”

Calling her dog “an angel in disguise”, Baksh said Tammy died after a short bout of illness on May 27. Baksh recalled that her dog had a fever and so she sought the advice of a vet. The dog lover said that she administered Tammy an iron supplement and the dog responded well.

“She was jumping and playing around as normal”, Baksh said, “and I though she had recovered”. Baksh said but after the sixth-day of treatment the dog suddenly took a turn for the worse.

A teary-eyed Baksh recalled that she was asleep at home on the night of May 27 when her father, Afzal, alerted her that something was wrong with Tammy. Gazing at the photos of the dog stored on her cell phone, she recalled, “Daddy said, “Sherry, Sherry come quick! Tammy came into my room and nestled herself between the wall and the dresser. She was not yet cold. I looked at her eyes and they were not moving.”

Baksh said she could not shed a tear for her pet, because she felt tremendous shock that she (Tammy) was gone.

The idea to freeze the dog came from her father, since they were unable to bury the dog that night.

However, it was her sister, Feriza Wisham, who lives in Las Vegas, who advised that an autopsy ought to be performed to reveal the dog’s cause of death. “I need to have closure”, Baksh told Newsday. “I need to know how and why my dog died.”

According to Baksh, she has since spoken via telephone to several veterinarians in Las Vegas and California about the case.

“I am really shocked at the type of medical care that my dog got. If she got the proper medical care she would have been alive today,” she said.

Asked why she did not have the autopsy performed locally, Baksh said she did not trust local veterinarians, since “local vets will pick up for each other. For me to get closure I need to have it done abroad so that I will find out the truth”.

The cost of the autopsy, Baksh said, is approximately US $250. Her sister is bearing the costs of her ticket and transportation via cargo plane for the dog. To have the dead animal transported, Baksh said a funeral home will have to prepare the dog for the flight.

Baksh told Newsday that if the autopsy proves that the local veterinarians were negligent in their diagnosis and treatment, she intends to take the matter to the court.

However, she added that she was not pursuing the matter for monetary gain, but to see justice prevail.

She added that after the autopsy she intends to find a good burial spot for the dog’s final resting place. “The same way I want to be buried I want that for my dog too”, she said.