­­Dog owner receives pet’s cancer medicines days after its put down

Almost a week after Pooch, a part-Labrador suffering from cancer, had to be put down, his owner received the box of medicinal dog treats that could have lengthened his pet’s life and alleviated his pain.

The treats, which arrived by courier from the US on February 11, were not released earlier because the Commerce Department’s trade directorate required the owner to present an import licence.

Ray Fenech will now be donating the medicine – amounting to a four-month supply – to a stray dog suffering from cancer at the San Franġisk animal clinic in Ta’ Qali.

“I will sponsor a dog and, hopefully, this will show the treats work... They are not miraculous but can alleviate the pain of a dog suffering from cancer... Hopefully, other dogs will benefit from the death of Pooch,” Mr Fenech said.

The treats, called K9 Immunity Plus, were used to treat search and rescue dogs used in the operation after the 9/11 attacks in the US. K9 is a natural product that boosts the immune system.

Apart from the box he received on Tuesday, containing a month’s supply of treats, Mr Fenech is expecting the delivery of another three boxes, which he now has the licence for.

He had originally ordered three small boxes from the US but the company made a mistake and sent them by snail mail as opposed to courier. To fix the mistake, the company sent another box by courier. Since then, Mr Fenech has learnt K9 is also available in the UK.

Pooch died last Wednesday in the arms of his favourite vet at the animal clinic and surrounded by his “family” – Ray and Angela Fenech – who took him in from the streets over a decade ago. He was a stray and had advanced sandfly which eventually led to blindness. A month ago the dog was diagnosed with cancer of the spleen and his vet gave him three to six months to live.

Mr Fenech did some research on the internet and discovered K9. When a K9 box arrived the courier company informed Mr Fenech that he needed the go-ahead from the government veterinary services. When the courier obtained that, on February 14, he was told he needed an import licence since the product was coming from a non-EU country.

In a letter to The Times­­­ (see page 10), Godwin Warr, the director general at the Commerce Department, said that “at no time did the department... (government vet) refuse or delay the issue of a licence since no application was in fact made.”

While saying he was sorry for Mr Fenech’s loss, Mr Warr pointed out that according to normal procedure it was advisable to first check whether a licence was needed before importing something.