3358. Euthanasia of pets

July 18, 2019 



Euthanasia of companion animals is a very emotive situation for the veterinarian.


There are owners who have to abandon or give up their pets owing to changes in financial situation, statutory regulations about dog sizes or moving to a smaller residence. Dogs that are healthy should be re-homed rather than be euthanased. Dogs that are anti-social can be trained to behave if the owner puts in the efforts.

Chronic illnesses, dogs that are not toilet-trained, barking incessantly and biting people are the main reasons for euthanasia.  

Some owners want me to advise euthanasia of their sick pet on humane or financial grounds. For me, it will always be the decision of the owner.  This is because one of the family members or the owner himself or herself is against euthanasia. Advising euthanasia label me as "incompetent" in social media postings by the pet owner.  

When I was a young vet, I used to think in terms of the financial costs to owners, based on my background of a family that had to make ends meet.

An owner brought in a severely slashed and injured cross-bred for treatment. The medical costs would be high. I advised euthanasia. The owner took the dog back and nursed him to health. Recently, the younger sister, in the presence of the owner who invited me for dinner at her house said: "This dog is much alive but would have been killed by you some 16 years ago!"   

Over the years, I tell the owner the prognosis, estimate the medical expenses and let the owner know that he or she has to make the final decision for the lethal injection.

3357. A 14-year-old female spayed pug has no appetite

Jul 18, 2019

The 14-year-old female spayed pug had no veterinary check up for the past 14 years.  When the pug stopped eating for over a week from June 26, 2019, the owner brought her to Toa Payoh Vets.

The first blood test on June 26, 2019 showed anaemia. The dog went home after dental and medical treatment, but still did not have the voracious appetites. Today, Jul 17, 2019 is Day 3 of inpatient. The dog still has anaemia but also lecucocytosis and neutrophlia and lier disorder.

3356. Chow Chow 3 years after entropion surgery. Owner is pleased

3355. Photography - How to succeed in product photos

Jul 15, 2019

Dgital photography
digitalcameraworld.com  Issue 209


Intense competition
Technical challenges to shoot images that are useful to a wide range of clients
Create unique and desireable images on a viable profit margin.


Cosniderations for successful and commercially appealing product photography


1. Composition. Vital to frame yr shots so that users can adapt the product itself to fit their current project. Plenty of space for copy or enough of the frame to composite on extra elements --- highest no. of sales. Tightly cropped images are context specific - less adaptable for widespread commercial application.


2. Unique challenge is the quality and shape of reflections.  Suppress or enhance the reflectivc surfaces. If you are commissioned for a pre-specific purpose, then maintain context s always be your priority.


3. Matching style to end-use will generate repeat custom since you minimise work on the customer's part. S b yr priority.


4. Ability to work with multiple backgrounds - mostly black and white seamless backdrops. . Often overlooked. Making shots on both is a good insurance for meeting a client brief,  but also style lighting so that backgrounds c b swapped later.


5. Physical insurance if you shoot in yr studio. Who is liable if damage or loss occur? Business policy covers the type and cost of the items in yr care during the shot.


6. Think whether the product can use yr space, equipment and time. Ensure cost of execution should not outway the potential income genrated. Becoming overly ambitious may not make you successful.


FILE TREATMENT.
Consider how you would like yr cients to receive image files.
Provide a layered Photoshop file - standout appeal and can demand a higher price. Make a flatted
JPEG or TIFF file and offer a more expensive PSD.


REMEMBER RESOLUTION
Image files mst meet the standards required  by yr client. However, more pixels are not aways better.


Product photography is about detail. Enough resoluion. Not all user want large files. Offer multiple file versons align with client's practices.




Pro case study
Professional product photography specialist
Mark Colliton
https://www.markcolliton.com/blog


1.  Common challenges with meeting a client brief:


Initial enquiries and briefs  c b vague in product details and sho list. Request full details plus reference imagery and mood boards for creative direction is advisable.  You can then provide an accurate estimate, turnaround time and agree payment terms.


Ensure client understands post-production and retouch require both time and added expenses.


2. How to remain competitive?


Be good and be seen. Get experience, find your niche and work at it. An attractive and easy-to-use website with good SEO is essential to showcase your work and encourage prospects to get in touch.
Negotiate contracts by photographic gents in the higher end of industry.


Stay motivated to perform at yr best. Take time out to experiment with different styles and techniques occasionally will do you good.


TOP TIPS
1. A standout website to refect your ability, showcase what market you are in for getting jobs


2. Location is impotant.  Proximity to a large city. Enough business types


3.  A stylish studio. Share a studion, rent one.  your own.


4. Keep the client in mind. Be easy to work with. It's about the client, not you. So keep a broader view of where they're coming from.  Have patience on set - keep calm even when lighting is proving tricky.

3354. Veterinary Files from Myanmar. A pet squirrel in Yangon vomited for 3 days

The following text is a guideline. 3 parts.

1. VIDEO 1.  A squirrel vomited for 3 days. VIDEO 1.

2. VIDEO 2.  Wildlife in Singapore.  Very few squirrels are seen in Singapore nowadays due to loss of habitat as the country clears forests for housing development. Singaporean travellers love to take photos of squirrels during their travels overseas (images of squirrels in London, USA, Turkey)

3. VIDEO 3.  Dr Sing's rare encounters with 2 wild squirrels in Singapore, during his morning walks. 

Unexpected encounter. The squirrel dashed off with the fallen mango up the mango tree.

On another occasion, one was videoed eating rambutans in a tree.

1.  Please review, edit, re-write and create a video about the diagnosis and treatment of vomiting in a pet squirrel.  SUBTITLES.

-----------------------------------

VIDEO 1

HOOK  (Introduces the settings with images from ABOUT MYANMAR and the video footage)

(Show images of Myanmar to introduce the Myanmar setting. See images (ABOUT MYANMAR) below. Then add in the footage of the pet squirrel on the owner's shoulder.

Narrate the following OR your own story according to your time frames:

Myanmar is a big country with over 50 million people. It has vast areas of agricultural land with rice, beans, fruits like oranges and mangoes grown, .(ABOUT MYANMAR IMAGES)

In Yangon, a gentleman (video footage) bought a 4-month-old squirrel as a pet last month. In July 5, 2019,  this squirrel had vomited for 3 days. This was not normal.  The owner brought it to Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery in Yangon to consult veterinarian Dr Thein Tun Aung (insert his images, see below)..  

 "What caused him to vomit?" the tattooed gentleman asked. 

(Title)
A PET SQUIRREL IN MYANMAR VOMITED FOR 3 DAYS 





Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery in Myanmar was established more than 10 years ago. It is a busy practice with a heavy caseload. Various veterinary surgeons like Dr May Than Oo (insert image below) had practised there.

Dr May Than Oo in 2016

DR THEIN TUN AUNG's patients are mainly dogs and cats. This pet squirrel was his 2nd squirrel patient.  The Sarus crane with an injured foot was another exotic pet.

Dr Thein Tun Aung treated a Sarus crane in 2014

Dr Thein Tun Aung, July 2019

Company car at the mechanic

(BACK TO THE SQUIRREL)

The squirrel was still active. Dr Aung took his rectal temperature. It was 99 degrees F. The normal body temperature for a gray squirrel is between 99° and 101° Fahrenheit (F). He had no fever. What was the cause of her persistent vomiting?. 

Dr Aung had X-rays taken.
A foreign body like small stones could be inside the stomach or intestines. 2 X-rays were taken..No radio-dense foreign bodies were seen. There could still be radio-lucent foreign bodies but X-rays would not reveal them..

The X-rays showed a cloudy abdomen masking the liver, kidneys and most intestines.
(show and narrare the X-rays of this patient compared to a normal X-ray, see below). This was not good news. 

What type of cloudy peritoneal fluid was present inside the abdomen? Dr Aung did a paracentesis (define paracentesis, see below).
.

CAUSES OF VOMITING (see below)

Dr Aung injected subcutaneous fluid and antibiotics. The owner would keep the squirrel warm inside a box and continue with oral antibiotics and electrolyes to prevent dehydration for the next 3 days. A review after 3 days was advised..

TREATMENT AND ADVICES AT HOME (see below).



CONCLUSION
The squirrel had sepsis as the peritoneal fluid was not bloody and cloudy. It should be clear and transparent in normal squirrels. (Insert images of some normal squirrels). He passed away 2 days later.One possible cause of sepsis could be the rupture of the intestines due to sharp twigs penetrating through the intestinal wall.    

 The owner did not want the post-mortem to check the cause of death. He buried the squirrel. 
















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ABOUT MYANMAR

The country has developed very fast in the last 3 years, with new investments in industries, hotels and other areas. The airport in Yangon had new terminals and facilities nowadays. The young generation has benefitted from new investments in education and school.

Retail shops like cafes, restaurants, housing and veterinary clinics for small animals have mushroomed, providing the people more choices of service providers. 

New bakery and cafe selling fruits in Yangon

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WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF VOMITING?
1. Foreign bodies inside the stomach or intestines. X-rays were performed.
2. Infections from traumatic injuries inside the abdomen, liver and kidney disorders 
3. Poison or toxic chemicals ingested. It was not possible to do toxicology to determine the poison or chemicals..
4. Anti-flea powder or chemicals applied on the squirrel's body by the owner,. The squirrel groomed itself and was poisoned.  .


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LABORATORY AIDS TO DIAGNOSIS.

1. RADIOGRAPHY
Two X-rays were taken. The abdomen was not swollen. It showed radio-dense fluid indicating peritonitis but no radio-dense foreign bodies. There were gas inside the stomach and intestines. (Narrate slowly, showing the cloudy abdomen...pointer?)

The above X-ray was compared to a normal X-ray of a young squirrel as follows:

Gastric and intestinal contents were clearly visible. Definitely no radio-dense 

peritoneal fluid.

 

2. PARACENTESIS.
Under light gaseous anaesthesia, a needle was inserted into the abdomen to draw out peritoneal fluid for examination and bacterial culture and antibiotic sensistivity test. 

The normal fluid is clear but this squirrel had reddish-brownish fluid suggestive of an infectious peritonitis. The cause was likely due to a penetrating traumatic wound into the abdomen.    




TREATMENT

1. Prevention of further dehydration. Dr Aung pinched the skin between the shoulder blades. The skin stayed pinched and fell slowly showing that the squirrel was severely dehydrated.Oral and subcutaneous electrolytes were given.

2. The owner would keep the squirrel warm inside a box with heated pads. 

3. He would feed antibiotics.
 
4. He would feed an oral diet by hand daily if there was no more vomiting after rehydration. . Squirrels are omnivores. They like to eat plants (fungi, seeds, nuts and fruits) and meat (eggs, small insects, caterpillars and small animals)



PROGNOSIS.

The owner was informed that the prognosis was poor. The squirrel had an infectious peritonitis. The peritoneal fluid was sucked out slowly.  




---------------------------------------
VIDEO
Can you "zoom" into the squirrel video to  show 70% of the squirrel in the footage, as shown in my image "The squirrel eats a rambutan).

Otherwise, the squirrel is seen as a very small dot inside the video viewed on the handphone and viewers would be unhappy. If this cannot be done, let me know. I am sure that it can be done. .  
--------------------------------------------------------------------

. 


VIDEO 2

SITUATION OF EXOTIC PETS IN SINGAPORE

IN SINGAPORE, most small animal vets will never see a squirrel case as it is not permitted as pets.

This image was "transformed" and "cropped" by Photoshop to show the squirrel eating the rambutan. Can you do this in the video?  The actual image and similar one in the video footage as follows cannot be used as it shows the squirrel as a small dot.

As my zoom lens is 200mm, it is not possible to take close up of the squirrel.
(see if you can use CTRL A and  CTRL T (transform) in your video software) to get a close up of the squirrel in the footages.

The plantain squirrels appears to be the most common of the tree squirrels spotted in Singapore. The population of all types of squirrels in Singapore has declined owing to habitat loss. 

A plantain squirrel has a black and white stripe below the orange-coloured body.

Show the stripe in image


Dr Sing of Toa Payoh Vets has a rare sighting of this plantain squirrel one early morning in July 2019 while doing his morning exercise walk. The squirrel was perched on the fence. He decided fast to grab the fallen mango on the road. He sprinted the tree to eat it for breakfast.(Narrate over the 3 images below).

A squirrel in Singapore eats a mango for breakfast

On another occasion, Dr Sing saw a movement amongst the leaves in a tree. He videoed a squirrel busy eating rambutans. Do not keep squirrels as pets as they are decreasing in numbers in many cities due to the loss of habitat. .
.

 


VIDEO 3 

Most Singaporeans love taking photographs of the squirrel seen when they travel as they rarely see them in urbanised Singapore. 3 such squirrels in London, USA and Turkey are shared with viewers. 

Hong Kong buses

Photos taken by mobile phones (London, USA) are not as sharp as the one taken by a DSLR camera zoom lens (Singapore, Turkey).

A squirrel in Singapore eats a rambutann

Sprinted up the tree in Turkey when he saw stranger (a Singaporean child) approaching him

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks to Royal Asia Veterinary Surgery in Yangon, Dr Thein Tun Aung and Dr Thin Thin Soe

Dr Thein Tun Aung and clients' gift to him

Swe Mon and Dr Thin Thin Soe, ife of Dr Thein Tun Aung,

Receptionist Swe Mon at work.

CREDITS
Your name and the clinic's people.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.toapayohvets.com etc.  image


 

3353. SEO success - Increase your web audience

Jul 5, 2019


Digital Photographer Issue 213
www.digitalcameraworld.com


INCREASE YOUR WEB AUDIENCE


For many photographers, web presence is a main source of business. So, online marketing place m b done with care, maximising page traffic and reaching the widest possible audience.
Images insufficiently tagged with metadata w. be less visible to search engines while a poorly implemented website design results in a high 'bounce' rate.


1. DESCRIPTION
Image must have a meaningful description with a succinct caption. This will be visible to search engines.   


2. THROUGH TRAFFIC
On your personal website, add links to other pages, galleries or images of use to viewers. Add text hyperlinks/


3. RELEVANCE
Ensure that search markers (titles, keywords and captions) are relevant to the content of the page. Keep your images visible by making search engines work for you.


4. MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Images that are popular, best represent the quality of your work or sell well, use multiple online platforms for promotion.


Place same image on your website, social accounts and other galleries like Flickr, 500px etc and link them to drive cross traffic.


5. IMAGE TITLES
 Viewer, after seeing the thumbnail image, will look for the title. Title s. b informative and accurate. Titles are recognised in search engines - keep wording concise and incorporate place, name and subject type. 


6. KEYWORDS/HASTAGS
Keywords tell search engines that your content is what web surfers are looking for. Use subject type, location, date, your business type and your other linked specialisms as keywords, making sure that they are relevant to the page. 


On social platforms like Instagram, use hashtags  in place of keywords.  Choose words that are popular but  unlikely to 'swamp' your image with others.


7.  CONCLUSION
Online market place is overcrowded with overlapping content. Tricky to stand out and be noticed. By using a logical and accurate metadata policy, you ensure yr images can be seen by those that matter
and drive the conversion of page views into profit.








FASHION BERETS
Keywords

3352. A rare case of uterine prolapse in a red-eared slider

VIDEO

Original images

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