PETALING JAYA: When Raymond Tan noticed one of his dogs scratching himself repeatedly in late August, he knew something was wrong.
Tan, 36, initially suspected a food allergy but began looking for other answers when he realised his dog’s diet was not the cause.
“Whenever my dog starts itching, it’s usually because of an allergy to something new in his food.
“The only other possibility was something in the environment.
“Since we had not changed his food, we suspected it was due to something else,” he said.
Tan, who lives in Petaling Jaya, said his suspicions were confirmed following a visit to the veterinarian.
“The vet said my dog’s itch was due to the haze.
“It’s normal for dogs to scratch occasionally but during that time, my dog was doing it vigorously every few hours,” he said.
The veterinarian prescribed oral medication and ointments to treat the condition, he added.
Tan was charged RM300 for the allergy treatment, significantly higher than his usual veterinary bills of RM100 to RM200.
Since then, he has limited his dogs’ outdoor activities, particularly when Air Pollutant Index readings are high.
“We don’t want to take any risks. They still need their outdoor time, so we make sure they get it whenever the haze isn’t quite as bad,” he said.
Fellow pet owner Sufyan Zahri, 36, has also reduced his cats’ time outdoors because of the haze.
“We usually let one of our two cats out in the evenings, but we stopped in late September when the haze worsened.
“I noticed that whenever she came back inside, she had a certain smell. I am worried that she might ingest haze particles while grooming herself,” he said.
Marketing executive J. Linda, 32, has also become more cautious after her cat developed watery eyes and persistent sneezing when the haze worsened in the Klang Valley last month.
“She was indoors the whole time, but she may have been affected by particles entering the house when I open the windows.
“I took her to the vet, where she was given medication.
“She’s fine now, but I’m much more careful about opening the windows, even at night,” she said.
Linda also cautioned other pet owners that the absence of visible haze indoors does not necessarily mean the air is free of pollutants.
