Pet Medications

One of the key chores that Kiwi house sitters could very well find themselves having to do is the administering of medical treatment to some (if not potentially all) of the homeowners’ pets. This is one of my jobs at my Pukekawa house sit. Both dogs (Shiva and Munter) are getting on in their years and so they receive regular medication.

Munter has a touch of rheumatism and so he gets an Advil pill every 2-3 days in order to help keep that in check and keep him mobile.

Shiva, who is 16 years old, receives three different tablets. Firstly, there is a Cardi Sure which is for her heart as she is prone to heart ‘murmurs’. She readily takes it from my hand so it’s nice and easy to administer. She gets half a Cardi Sure 60 minutes before breakfast, and the other half 60 minutes before her dinner. Her tablet times are 5am and 5pm.

And with her meals she gets a half tablet of Diurin (which is a diuretic) with her breakfast and dinner, and a half tablet of Vasorex (which treats high blood pressure) with her dinner only.

I set my alarm for 4:50am to make sure Shiva gets her morning pill at 5am. While I’m waiting for the 60 minutes to expire before she gets her breakfast I just potter about the house – do the dishes from last night, fold up the washing, or have a read – things like that. Once she’s had her breakfast I’ll jump back in bed for a snooze and Shiva will do the same. The homeowners said to me that it doesn’t matter too much if I’m half-an-hour late with her tablets, but I’m not prepared to take any chances and so I keep to her regular times religiously.