Quarantined with its owners, 9-month-oldpug ‘Max’ languishes because of poor diet

Prayagraj: They say dogs are a man’s best friend and it couldn’t be any more true for the Singh family, which has been quarantined in an apartment in Kalinidpuram along with their dog ‘Max’ — making him probably the first pet to be isolated in the wake of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
The nine-month-old pug has been quarantined with his owners, who belong to the same family as the 47-year-old civil engineer who died of Covid-19 earlier this week. The Lukerganj-based man tested positive for the virus on May 1.
After the engineer was diagnosed with the disease, 10 of his family members were quarantined at a guest house and their swab samples were collected. Later, his wife, mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law and brother also tested positive for novel coronavirus and were shifted to Covid-19 Level One Hospital in Kotwa. The remaining members, along with their pet, were later shifted to an apartment in Kalindipuram.
“None of us were ready to leave Max behind as we feared he would be neglected and not eat in our absence. He is an integral part of our life,” said Anurag, one of the members of the family.
However, the family is now worried about the dog’s health as he has been losing weight because of a poor diet.
“We used to give him dog food, however as it is not available at the quarantine centre we feed him puri along with tomato ketchup. Sometimes, we also give him eggs with roti or curd and rice,” said Anurag.
He added that his pet dog was not eating properly also because of the heat. “We don’t have an air conditioner or desert cooler installed at the quarantine centre,” said the 18-year-old.
“We were looking for someone who could keep Max with them and feed him properly for just a week. We would be completing quarantine on May 15 and can take him back after that,” he said.
Anurag said that he had spoken to Max’s veterinarian, who said that it was safe for anyone to keep the pug with them for a few days. “The doctor said that there was no danger of someone getting infected because of Max living with him. Despite the assurance, we haven’t been able to find any alternative accommodation for Max. We hope that his health doesn’t deteriorate any further while we are quarantined,” said Anurag.