Richard Whalley told no ventilators for sick Gympie pets

When his beloved pet was struck down by a paralysis tick, this Queensland dog owner was shocked to discover the machine that could have made the difference wasn’t on offer in his town. Now, he’s on a mission to stop other owners from suffering the same heartbreak.

After being told there were no pet ventilators in Gympie to possibly save his dog’s life and he would have to drive to the Sunshine Coast, a resident is speaking out to enact change.

When a Gympie resident’s five-year-old dog was bitten a paralysis tick, the venom taking over his pet’s tiny body wasn’t the only problem.

Richard Whalley discovered the device that may have saved the life of his beloved pooch Winny was only available an hour away at Sippy Downs on the Sunshine Coast.

Told Winny’s chances of surviving the hour-long journey without ventilation were low and he would suffer, Mr Whalley made the heartbreaking decision to put his Maltese companion down.

“I was shocked and in tears, I just didn’t know what to do and you just don’t want your pet to suffer,” Mr Whalley said.

“They put an oxygen tube down his throat but they said that wasn’t sufficient enough for him.

“They’re like your children, it’s like someone saying ‘there’s no ventilator at the Gympie Hospital and you’ve got to go to the Sunshine Coast’.”

Given the population of the growing Gympie region, Mr Whalley said there would be a need for a ventilator in the community.

“Even though the chances of survival on a ventilator can be really low, if other people don’t have to go through this and even if it saves one or two pets it’s worth it,” he said.

“It’s going to keep happening if we don’t have the services in the town.”

Mr Whalley has taken it upon himself to ask the questions and see if a ventilator can be made available for local vets to use.

“It’s anger that’s driving it and sadness and wanting to stop this happening for other people,” he said.

After expressing his concerns on social media, Mr Whalley told the Gympie Time’s one woman had said her pet was on a ventilator for three days and survived.

“If there was a chance for one, I would’ve taken the chance,” he said.

The grieving pet owner’s next plan is to contact the local council to see if they can help make a communal ventilator available for Gympie’s pets.

“Its early stages … but we’ve got to get the ball rolling,” he said.

“(We need to) get the vets to realise there is a lot of people out there that want it so they spend more money.”