Greyhound transport
The one really bad thing if that happened on the journey was that Nougat - the greyhound - became extremely ill. Because he, as an ex-racer, was very used to being transported in crates, and because he has such a relaxed personality, he was the last one we expected any trouble from. We actually now believe that the crate he was given was not big enough for him. When he arrived in Milan, the vet thought that he was urinating blood, and was only willing to release him to come to Pontremoli on the condition that he went straight into an animal hospital (not an ordinary vet). As it happened, the animal transport people in Milan found a clinic in Pontremoli on the Internet, and it turned out to be extremely good. So a lot of tests were carried out, and the poor thing had to spend quite a few days and several nights with intravenous drips and on oxygen. When he was allowed home he had to have the cannula kept bandaged in his leg ready for the next treatment, but he was so exhausted, disoriented and stressed that I’m not sure that he noticed. First of all the vets found that there was no blood in his urine, or at least no blood cells, and it was thought that his kidneys were processing blood cells and passing out the haemoglobin. Further tests showed that the red colour wasn’t haemoglobin either, but myoglobin from his exhausted muscles; they came to the conclusion that he had stood and trembled for most or all of the journey. Without expert treatment there is no doubt he would have died, so we are very happy that he is now well on the mend.
The crate he was in was indeed large:
…and the price we paid for his transport was not insignificant. I am sure that the pet transport people who shipped him off acted in good faith, but what is clear is that if you ever want to transport a greyhound a long way you really, really must make sure that his crate is large enough for him not only to stand up and lie down, but also to turn around easily. The greyhound has to be able to turn round, otherwise he cannot go through the awkward process a greyhound needs to get down on to the floor. This will make it even more expensive, of course, and if the price is too much then he or she should stay home. Anything else is cruel and dangerous, sadly.
