1481. Thursday's 4 new clients - varied problems.

Thursday Jun 27, 2013. Today is surprising in that 5 new clients whom I had not seen before, came in a row in the morning.

Case 1. The owner of this Alsatian X phoned to cancel the neuter appointment at 10 am and so I was surprised to see him turning up. He made the appointment with Dr Daniel yesterday. I had talked to him as he had some queries. "Actually there are two types of neutering," I said to him. "One is vasectomy in which part of the spermatic cord is cut away so that the dog does not breed. The other is the usual removal of the testes. Most dog owners ask for the 2nd method as this make the male dog less aggressive and display less anti-social behaviour like urine marking.

The owner wanted vasectomy so that his dog will not change his character. So vasectomy would be the answer to his reason to save $70-$14=$56 for the annual dog licence of a neutered dog.The dog is only aggressive towards other dogs. He looks nervous inside the crate and so we have to be careful.

Case 2. The gentleman kept picking out ticks for the past 2 weeks. "I used the Frontline spot-on late," he said. Frontline should be used 3-4 weekly regularly. Ticks stuck under the lush thich coat. "Clipping bald is the solution," I said. The dog was also nervous, moving his head to and fro. I gave IV dom + ket at 50% for this 10 kg dog. Just sufficient to clip without him biting. I taught my assistant how to use the clipper size 10 rather than size 40 as there is no need to clip bald to the skin. He mumbled less now but the use of clippers is never taught in vet schools including his Myanmar Vet University.  

Case 3. The lady and her mum came in with a 8-year-old Terrier X and her fractured tooth. "Is it common to have older dogs dropping teeth?" she asked me over the phone yesterday and made an appointment. "It is common if the tooth is loose and decayed," I replied. When I examined the dog today, the tooth was fractured half way at the gum level. "Your dog bites metal or solid objects," I said. The lady confirmed. "That is why this left upper Incisor 3 is broken. I have to get the root extracted. Dark brown stains in the back teeth. Otherwise, the teeth are in good condition and white."

The sky is still hazy. The sun is obscured as I write this report at 11.37 am. Three new cases with 3 new challenges. Veterinary practice is never dull.

Case 4. Spaying a ferocious stray cat of around 6 months. The mother and adult daughter came at around 11.30 am with a crate covered with rags. This is part of stray cat rescue of the Yishun group, operating for last 3 years feeding of the stray cats which cost a lot of money. "There is credibility in your work as it exists for 3 years," I said. "But nobody knows it  Even if a kind person want to donate some cat food, they don't know where to locate you. Facebook is the best. Record your work, your history of the group and ask for cat food, rather than cash. Don't expect a donor to come to you.

"The Facebook with stray cats sterilised and those needing vet treatment will be put up and over the years, others will come to help you. Personal donations by you will not be possible as there are just too many stray cats to feed! Your daughter should be able to use handphone to take images and upload on Facebook."

"Some vets are charging too much for spay," the mother said.
"It is too much to the volunteer, but vets have very high operating costs and are not a charity funded by outsiders. So, not all vets can sustain such subsidized services out of their own account too."     

Case 5.
"My cat started to scratch my expensive furniture," the lady said to me. The cat was declawed by Vet 1 on April 4, 2013. "This cat was brought in by my son but now he is not responsible. LF and RF