Life is difficult in Northern Uganda and it seems all too often that we are reporting the loss of one of the beloved souls with whom we have had the great pleasure of working.
It is with a very heavy heart that we report that we have lost one of our happiest and most beloved Comfort Dogs, Bitum.
Bitum is a BIG FIX success story. Brought to our hospital after suffering for weeks after being hit by a motorbike, Bitum was a fragile skeleton with open wounds which had become infested with maggots. Her condition was so grave, that our vet team didn't think she would survive the night. When she did, they gave her the name "Survivor".
Despite all the pain and misery she had been through in her short life, this brown dog lit up the hospital with her smile and her sweet and gentle manner. She loved everyone fully and unconditionally.
It is with a very heavy heart that we report that we have lost one of our happiest and most beloved Comfort Dogs, Bitum.
Bitum is a BIG FIX success story. Brought to our hospital after suffering for weeks after being hit by a motorbike, Bitum was a fragile skeleton with open wounds which had become infested with maggots. Her condition was so grave, that our vet team didn't think she would survive the night. When she did, they gave her the name "Survivor".
Despite all the pain and misery she had been through in her short life, this brown dog lit up the hospital with her smile and her sweet and gentle manner. She loved everyone fully and unconditionally.
It took many months of care to bring "Survivor's" condition to a point when she could be placed with a war trauma survivor as part of our Comfort Dog Project. On her adoption day in 2017, she was still very thin but her zeal for life was so strong, we knew she would do well.
Meanwhile, Paul, a dear man who had endured unimaginable horrors during the war, had been stuck in the debilitating effects of PTSD. Although Paul had a wonderful wife and several lovely children, his traumatic experiences prevented him from living his best life. The dog we named "Survivor" changed all that. Through her deep devotion to Paul, the walls of PTSD came crumbling down and Paul became free of its crippling effects on his life. He began to smile again.
Meanwhile, Paul, a dear man who had endured unimaginable horrors during the war, had been stuck in the debilitating effects of PTSD. Although Paul had a wonderful wife and several lovely children, his traumatic experiences prevented him from living his best life. The dog we named "Survivor" changed all that. Through her deep devotion to Paul, the walls of PTSD came crumbling down and Paul became free of its crippling effects on his life. He began to smile again.
Paul re-named "Survivor" Bitum, which means Nothing is Permanent, in recognition that no matter how terrible our fate, everything is impermanent and will pass. This became true for Bitum's condition when she came to us and true for Paul's PTSD.
Bitum was loved by Paul's entire family. When Comfort Dog Project events were held and Paul was not available, Paul's wife and children would bring the exuberant dog. You could not look at Bitum and help but see how loved and happy she was. She was the kind of spirit that makes you smile and know that there is always good in the world, no matter how grim things may seem.
During June, Bitum had been in the family garden and was seen with a swelling on her face. The family wasn't sure what had happened but before any action could be taken, Bitum developed probable respiratory failure and died.
Bitum had been bitten by one of Northern Uganda's deadly snakes, a fate that takes many dogs (and children) from us.
Paul and his family are heartbroken.
When the time is right, we will place another Comfort Dog with Paul and support him and his family with grief counseling in the meantime.
At BIG FIX, we are also raising funds to create murals on our Comfort Dog Project roundhouse and our new kennel building to portray all the program guardians and dogs who are no longer with us, so that they will not ever be forgotten. Bitum will have a prominent place in that memorial.
Although nothing, including life, is permanent, as Bitum's name says, we would like to believe that her love will never die. We will always remember this smiling girl and all the love and happiness she brought to all of us and to Paul and his family.
Let us take this moment to celebrate Bitum and to thank all of you. If not for the BIG FIX hospital, the only veterinary hospital in the entire Northern Uganda region, Bitum would have just been like so many others and died on the side of the road, without knowing love.
Thanks to all of you, Bitum was able to overcome, to gain her strength back, to survive, AND to shower the world with her amazing love. She is the true image of what we are trying to accomplish.
Upon hearing of Bitum's death, Comfort Dog Project's Official Advisor, Meg Olmert, had this to share:
Love is the Big Fix and dogs are Love. I know that means we feel a terrible emptiness when our dogs pass on but that’s because they’ve opened our hearts wider than before. They leave us with a greater knowledge of and ability to love our family and the next dog to join it. Paul and his family are grieving now but will be even greater Guardians next time around. That bigger heart is Bitum’s legacy. This work couldn’t be more important.
If you want to learn more about snake bites in Africa you can read them here, and more specifically about snakes in Uganda.