This entry comes from India,
where buffalo are valued for their milk. Read on to see why this matters. Send
your sad stories to inbox@rochester-citynews.com.
—
Michael Neault
From: Kumu J.
To: Carole M.
Subject: PROBLEMS STILL THERE
Date: May 24, 2005
[…]
About the problems this end, the
buffalo was getting better but since she went berserk and landed herself in the
deep ditch (where the garbage is thrown and burnt) she has got worse inspite of
the vet coming everyday and giving injections and putting her on glucose etc.
Yesterday Dukhi and I had talked to the doc a few days back and he told me the
complications involved in her condition but she would get better. Then
yesterday Dukhi told me that she’s gotten worse. He entire body is covered in
blood (due to the fall) and the crows make it worse by pecking on it. Since it
is so bad there is no way we can put medicine all over her body, because of her
bulk. I told Sati about it last night and we came to the painful conlusion that
we’d get her put to sleep.
She has been suffering too much
and with her brain having been effected there is no guarantee she will ever be
okay. It is very sad but we have to do it. Ofcourse she has not been giving any
milk (it would be poisoness anyway). The other milk-giving buffalo is expecting
so she has stopped giving milk so we have to get milk from outside now –
atleast until she has the baby. As for the water problem it is still there – we
are getting muddy water even after getting the well dug to 165ft – the depth
was 80 before! Hopefully it will stop after a while. Actually the clean water
comes in fits and starts so when the water is clean I ask them to fill up the
baltis and put them in the bathroom.
[…]
Editor’s note:
Carole reports that, sadly, “the buffalo died a week later and it cost a great
deal to have it carted off.”
This article appears in Jul 13-19, 2005.
