1026. Skin disease in a German Shepherd - buying shampoos only

NO DOG BUT SHAMPOO

Today, Aug 7, 2012 6.30 pm, a lady in her late 40s came in to buy 2 bottles of the green shampoo for her family German Shepherd. "It is best to get the dog in for a check up," Dr Daniel told her as the dog still has skin disease.

 "My father and her maid had brought in the dog around Chinese New Year and Dr Vanessa had given it an injection," she said. "As the dog is too large, we don't bring her in to the vet but just buy the shampoo."

I did a "trust and audit" and by checking the medical records. She bought the shampoos on Sep 27 2011, Jan 20, 2012 (Chinese New Year on Jan 23, 2012), Mar 16, 2012 and May 17, 2012 and showed the lady the records.

"Skin diseases in dogs should not persist for so long as they can spread and cause itchiness," I took out the case sheets to investigate.  " There was no dog present on Jan 20, 2012 when your father came with the maid," I said. "He bought the green shampoo only. So the bill of $30 reflected on this product purchased." It is always good to show the case records to the owner to communicate clearly.

I showed the lady the earlier case sheets. The dog was born in 2002 and had one skin disease treatment in 2004 by me. Then it came for its annual vaccination in Feb 2007, March 2008 and March 2009. No more visits till Sep 27, 2011 when some family member came to buy the green shampoo, an anti-tick spot on and an anti-fungal cream for "skin problems" from Dr Vanessa. On her case sheet, she advised review and clipping for skin disease, but there was no response from the owner.

"This person must have loved the German Shepherd very much to care to bring her for her vaccination in 2007, 2008 and 2009," I was surprised. "Most Singapore dog owners cannot be bothered with vaccinations after the puppyhood vaccinations. Who is this family member?"

"He is my uncle. He brings the dog out for walks."

It is important to educate the owner and to keep proper medical records about skin diseases. In this case, the records showed that the father had never brought the dog to Dr Vanessa for treatment and the lady was shown the case sheets and was satisfied.