4121. An old dog with 3 seizures. What is the cause?

16 June 2022. An old dog had 3 seizures. Why?

The owner wanted a 2nd opinion on why her dog had a 3rd seizure. She had consulted a vet who took a blood test and said there was liver disorder. He wanted further blood tests to check whether the old dog had Cushing Disease. The owner did not wish her dog to undergo more tests and so declined. 

"Blood tests are needed to check whether the dog really has Cushing Disease before prescribing medication," I told the lady owner who had consulted me when her dog was a puppy. "There are effective medication from the vet for Cushing Disease in the dog."

She had shifted far away and was busy at work. So proximity to vets was important and Toa Payoh Vets was distant from her home. So I had not seen the dog.

She ordered online two herbal supplements. One claimed Cushing Disease "treatment" and the other claimed "Skin disease" treatment. 

"Since the blood test was done one year ago," I advised a recent one to check the liver disorder. "There are many causes of seizures or fits in the older dog," I told her.  Many of the younger generation do their research on the internet and some may buy the herbal supplements to treat their dogs. In this case, I advised stopping the herbal supplements as seizures still persisted. The "skin disease" herbal supplement were of no use, as the old dog had developed a few skin warts which are part of ageing in some dogs. Warts are caused by papilloma viruses.

A blood test is accepted by the lady. She wanted vaccination for her dog. "Vaccination is best done after blood test', I advised. "The big cherry eye caused intense discomfort. Your dog has tartar on his teeth, but he has panting occasionally. No heart murmurs but the dog may have heart enlargement."

"If the old dog has good dental health and prevention of diseases, he will live another 2 years. Some small breeds live up to 20 years in Singapore," I said. 

The dog has a swollen abdomen. "He passed gases often," the owner said. The dog did pass gas during my palpation of his tense swollen abdomen.  

We will wait 7 days to ensure that the dog has his antibiotics before dental scaling. Vaccination and removal of skin warts and cherry eye procedures will be done. The owner will stop feeding beans in her home-cooked food for her dog as they may cause flatulence or farting.  We will observe for seizures to know more about the cause.

UPDATES IN THIS BLOG:
    

 https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/06/4121-old-dog-with-3-seizures-what-is.html

 

4120. A culture of good F&B Service from The Erasian Restaurant

Sunday 19 Jun 2022: Father's Day at The Erasian Restaurant. This is my 3rd visit.

Not so crowded as the music band played only on Fridays and Saturdays.
Waiter Mr Febrego,  about 40 years old, originally from Portugual had worked for 4 months. He would recommend food combinations e.g. the sour achar to go with pork belly. 

He was a Grab delivery man but now he works in F & B as he gets CPF (pension contributions) and working background if he were to live in Canada. A very jovial person in grey face mask!  His younger colleague wished me "Happy Father's Day" when we were in the gents' room.  This Restaurant has a culture of personalised service with a heart.  

A short shower. Hot and humid inside the non-air con restaurant. A good Father's Day celebration. Kat was present too.

Big families dine on Father's Day

Mr Febrego (L) with customer

 

4119. Photographing the daylight moon tips

 

19 Jun 2022. Sunday. Father's Day.
I took a photo of the moon at 7AM at the Esplanade, after sending LP to Gateway Theatre by 6.30 am.

www.instagram.com/toapayohvets

19 Jun 2022. 

COMPARE THE SHARPNESS OF THE MOON IMAGES TAKEN IN 2022 AND 2018.

Practice makes perfect. I show my 2 images of the moon seen at daylight in Singapore in 2018 and 2022.

In 2022, I place the camera on top of another DSLR camera. Both cameras are placed on the ledge on the partition wall of The Esplanade car park entrance. The DSLR Canon EOS 90D 18-200 mm lens camera points at the moon skywards.

I then touch the LIVE view LED screen. That means no clicking of shutter and much less shaking of the lens.

I will say that the 19 Jun 2022 image of the daylight moon is much sharper than the 2018 image which would be handheld or placed on a car roof top. The shutter button would be pressed to click...causing vibrations and less sharp image of the moon.

A tripod is best but I seldom use it.

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

how I positioned the camera

4118. ADVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. You can take good photos with handphones or smart phones

19 JUN 2022: ADVICES FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. You can take good photos with iphone 11 pro

Smart handphone images are as good as professional camera images.

1.  iphone 11 pro takes good photos too, but you need to acquire digital imaging skills like how to take good photos with the "rule of threes" and how to edit them using a good software like Lightroom.

You can use the photos 

1. to sell as STOCK PHOTOS on commercial websites. For example, the following photos have been approved by www.shutterstock.com after I have had edited them. You can buy them from www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

2.  to market your products or services on social media or online platforms like Etsy, Shopee, Carousell etc.

2.1 to market products, for example, made by your elderly mother if she does dress making for dolls.

Some iphone 11 images are shown below.

MORE INFO AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2022/06/4118-taking-good-photos-with-iphone-11.html

Stock photo REJECTED by shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

Stock photo of shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

Stock photo of shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

Home-made reusable face masks

2. Handphone photos

SINGAPORE - 21 JUN 2022: Senoko Power Station is a power generation plant with a licensed capacity of 3,300 megawatts and supplies about 20 per cent of the nation’s electricity needs.

23 Jun 2022: Many believe that smartphone photos can not be good enough. The following two photos prove otherwise.

Smartphone photo NOT taken by Dr Sing Kong Yuen.

Such a beautiful morning photo with blue skies, white clouds and blue seas with Johore in the background .

The Senoko Power Station is a power generation plant designed by human beings. 

The sun may be said to be a power generator whose sunlight enables plants to do photosynthesis which sustains life on earth. Who design the sun?

3. Apple iPhone 11.

Moon above The Esplanade Forecourt Garden, 7 AM, 19 Jun 2022Apple iPhone 11Wide Camera 26 mm f1.88 MP, 2160 x 3840, 2.2 MBISO 32, 30 mm, O ev f 1.8, 1/666sBack camera lens 4.25mm f 1.8 

I stabilise the Canon DSLR EOS 90D on top of another

Point the camera to the moon. I do NOT press the shutter button
I pressed the LCD screen which does not vibrate
Hence the sharpness of the moon from high above

4117. Photography Tips - Vegetables in a supermarket.

 PHOTOGRAPHY TIP by Dr Sing Kong Yuen. Where do you focus in this case?

I focus on the brocoli in the centre of the view. I use single central focus on my DSLR Canon EOs 90D Camera, using P Mode.

This photo has been cropped as the bigger photo shows apples on the upper side. So the mid point of the photo where I focus on the brocoli will be not at mid point in this image. 

Practise makes perfect. I do not know whether this image is acceptable by www.shutterstock.com yet. 

Is asparagus a vegetable, a fruit, or an herb? Have you wondered too? 

Often seen as a sign that spring has come, asparagus is a delicious addition to many springtime dishes, including salads and veggie-filled frittatas. 

Asparagus (left, bottom) is a nutrient-dense perennial vegetable that grows in temperate climates around the world.

2022 Advices For Young People - create, not consume series.

UPDATED BLOG written in  4 Dec 2020.
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2020/12/3925-advices-for-young-people-create.html

"Create, Not Consume," I would advise young employees. It is easier said than done for 80% of the employees as they have priorities and responsibilities or just want to have fun after work. Some are not aware that many bosses have to cut business costs as employees demand pay increases yearly, but the net profits of the business decreases for various reasons. There is a shortage of employees after 2 years of Covid-19 pandemic, but that does not mean that the boss can pay higher salaries if businesses cannot sustain this situation.       

CREATE, NOT CONSUME 

1.  NEW SKILLS. If you are an employee, do know that your boss will hire a younger and less expensive replacement in time to come as intense competition lowers business profitability as one competitor will underprice, give cut-throat pricing and discounts.   

Make use of every second of your free time to acquire new skills by creating products or services, rather than spending a lot of time on computer gaming, watching movies or consuming entertaining services provided by others. An example in 2022 will be Tik Tok videos.

2.  TRAVEL INSIGHTS.  When you travel, be aware of the culture and businesses, rather than go from one point to another sight-seeing. 

For example, headwear sales in Chaung Tha Beach in Myanmar. The average tourist will do sight-seeing. 

However, if you look deeper, you will see the business aspects of the headwear sales---niche marketing.  How such sales person can earn a living. You have the sales strategy. Those people sells just one product or diverse products, doing cross-selling a related product and what customers are targeted.   

Young people to create, not just consume for their future 

when they are no longer young and strong to be an employee

Beach goer with children

Focus on one product to sell

More sources of revenue hopefully

Beach goers---younger generation and families

Different category of products for beach wear

Beach goers

Create your products to sell.

Focus on a niche market e.g. headwear in this example
Know who are your competitors and customers 
Product diversification

Cross-selling
Don't expect instant success. Many failures.
Hard work and perseverance

There is no guarantee of success but you will learn 

from failures and start another venture.

3946. Eyelid masses in the older dog - neoplasia, cyst, styes

Most common  type of tumour is the meibomian gland neoplasia. MeUsuibomian gland are oil producing glands for the eye. ductal epithelium or acinar gland (multilobulated pink or grey). 

uncommon Benign ones are papillomas, melanocytomas

Chalazion (meibomian gland cyst) usually together with tumours

Treatment

2-3 mm. can wait and see.

Small - cryosurgery two times

Medium - V-plasty

>10 mm  - rotating skin gtaft, H-plasty, Z-plasty

4077. Kindle Stories. Bamboo laundry poles to resuce an escapee blue-fronted Amazon parrot

PARROT INVOLVED

Blue-fronted Amazon parrots are among the best-talking birds kept as pets. They have brilliant colorings, and each bird has distinct feather patterns to go along with its extroverted personality. Known as comedians and feathered show-offs, they are an entertaining bird.

 

These parrots are capable of mimicking human speech and are noisy birds. When they were first discovered, they were called “Kriken”, which is French for "screechers."

Like most parrots, these birds are monogamous and bond with one partner for life.

 

Range

These birds can be found in Southwestern Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, and northern Argentina up to an elevation of 1,600 m (5,250 ft.).

Habitat

These parrots are normally found in subtropical and tropical dry forest, moist lowlands, arid savannas and dry shrublands.

Population

The global population size has not been quantified, but this species is described as 'fairly common”. There is some evidence of a population decline.

Status 

IUCN: Least Concern
CITES: Appendix II
USFWS: Not listed

 

 

 

 

 

Ecology and Conservation

These birds are messy eaters and play an important role in forest regeneration.

Their extremely strong beaks are perfectly adapted for extracting hard nuts and seeds.

In some areas, these birds are considered pests because their eating habits are destructive to crops.

The species was heavily traded until 1981 when it was listed as CITES Appendix II. They are also suffering from habitat destruction.

The U.S. Wild Bird Act forbids the commercial import of any bird listed by CITES which includes most parrots, which are endangered or threatened.

Scientific Classification

Common Name

blue-fronted Amazon

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Psittaciformes

Family

Psittacidae (true parrots)

Genus Species

Amazona aestiva

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VIDEO of the parrot safely at home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITsPqPc76kg&t=35s

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

VIDEO OF THE PARROT SAFELY BACK HOME IN 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITsPqPc76kg&t=35s

MORE INFO AT:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2015/11/2350-unbelievable-story-how-to-get-blue.html

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

 BAMBOO POLE IMAGES

• First cut bamboo is 3 times stronger than wood and very high quality
• Straight, flexible bamboo shafts have growth rings (nodes) the length of the cane, and naturally vary in spacing
• An inexpensive way to stake plants
• Bamboo is a natural product and can tapers from base to tip
• Pack of 10 stakes, measuring approximately 3/8 inch x 4 feet long

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

STORY

WAS PUBLISHED ON:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2015/11/2350-unbelievable-story-how-to-get-blue.html

2350. Unbelievable story. Did prayers get the blue-fronted Amazon home?

Monday, Nov 2, 2015 Story by Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)

A BLUE-FRONTED AMAZON ESCAPED FROM THE HDB FLAT
Did prayers get the Blue-fronted Amazon home? 
  

Part 1/2

"I don't know whether you will consider me loony," the camera salesman said to me. "After I prayed to Buddha, a big black bee appeared and landed on the crown of my blue-fronted Amazon perched in a tree opposite my 5th floor apartment. The buzzing bee gave my bird such a fright that he flapped his wings and landed onto the ground!"

I was at the camera shop to buy batteries for my Canon camera before going on a trip to Europe this Thursday.

Andrew showed me his wife's iPhone 6's image of the bird perched on the tree last Thursday, Oct 29, 2015.  This was the evidence. Now, the unbelievable story of keeping one's faith.

"I have encountered more unbelievable spiritual stories than yours and so do not consider you mentally ill," I said. "Such stories have no scientific basis but are based on faith. How did the blue-fronted Amazon escape from your apartment?"

"For the past 10 years," Andrew recounted, "I have been bathing him every morning in the corridor, outside my apartment. It is a corner unit and so I have this space to spray water to bathe him as he perched on the horizontal part of the staircase railing.

"Is he male or female?" I was shown the image of the bird at home. The blue feathers on the forehead above his beak define the blue-fronted amazon. It is also known as a blue-fronted parrot or turquoise-fronted amazon.

"It is not possible to differentiate the gender of the blue-fronted amazon from his plumage colours or size," Andrew said. 'You need to do DNA analysis."

"Why would he be flying off as his wings are clipped short?" I asked. Andrew had clipped his wings 10 years ago, but the feathers had grown back to normal. Birds cannot fly if their wings have been clipped but this must be done regularly.

"Bathing him was a routine and he had never attempted to fly away in the past 10 years, "Andrew replied. "Except on that day. Some noise had panicked him. He flapped his wings, shot out from the corridor and glided from my 5th floor across to the tree opposite."

Never take routines for granted. Be on the ball.

"Why didn't you tether his toes with a string while you spray water to bathe him?" I asked.

"Birds don't like that. My African Grey parrot was very unhappy with that and so I did not do that with this bird."

"What did you do to get him back?" I asked.

"I rushed downstairs and brought my bird cage with food downstairs and called his name. He would not come down! I had to go to work and at night, I got my cage down again. 

As the Malay family was having a wedding dinner on the void deck, a catering truck came. The engine noise frightened the bird further up the tree.

The driver asked me whether I would like to climb to the roof of his truck to get the bird down. But the bird was on a much higher level! On the 5th floor level! So his suggestion was of no use. "

"Did you contact the pest-control man?" I asked. These are private contractors engaged to clear bees, stray cats, rats, termites, bed bugs, ticks in houses and any other pests.

"My second son furiously researched the internet and a bird catcher quoted $1,000 to rescue the bird," he replied. "But with no guarantee. I still have to pay him $1,000. My elder son told me not to be hopeful of regaining my pet!"

Wow, these two young adult sons are very helpful and concerned about their father's misfortunes.

"How far away was this parrot from your apartment?" Andrew had said that his living room faces the tree where the bird was perched.

He estimated about 50 feet away as he could see the black bee landing on the bird's crown clearly. An adult blue-fronted amazon is around 38 cm or 15 inches long. I have doubts about his estimation of such a short distance. But I was not  the man on the spot.

So, Andrew went to work from 2 pm to 11 pm and his wife sent him the iPhone image of the parrot still perched on the tree. Stationary. Frightened. Breathing the poisonous particles of the haze from Indonesia in November 2015.

"I cabled 5 long bamboo poles lengthwise and pointed them towards the bird," he hoped the parrot would simply perch on the pole and return home to "Daddy".

"That is a good idea," I replied. "But are you sure you can reach the bird so that he can perch onto it and come home?",

Bamboo poles are used by people to hang out clothes to dry, saving on the waste of money and resources in buying in a dryer. A bamboo pole is around 7 feet long and 5 of them still could not reach the bird.

"The problem was that the 5th furthest pole started to sag downwards, being pulled by gravity!"

So, there was no solution. The bird was still in the tree overnight. There was haze. A drizzle on Friday morning. The bird must be wet and shivering.

Part 2/2

"Luckily, there was no hawk or eagle to pounce on him." I said.
"If he had flown to the ground while I was not around, a stray cat may kill him too."

Life is full of dangers for a strayed pet bird. No wonder he stayed still in the tree.

On Friday morning, Andrew bathed and prayed to his 3 Buddhas for help. One was a bronze, the other was gilded gold and the third one was translucent.

"The sunshine briefly shone through the hazy grey clouds," Andrew looked out of his window after the prayer. "I saw a big black bee flying towards the parrot and landed on top of his head. My bird gave a shriek and flapped his wings landing on the ground. I sprinted downstairs and got him to safety before the stray cats kill him!"

I remembered this episode well as I was outdoors at the clinic on this Friday morning. So many days of poor visibility of the sun and buildings from the haze caused by the forest fires in Indonesia. 

So I could appreciate the sight of bright sunshine as most of the time, the morning sun was not visible or bright reddish orange.

"This happened only 3 days ago. Do you consider me loony?"

"No," I said. "I have encountered personally more divine-related stories from one of my clients.

"What happened? What happened?" Andrew asked. Business was quiet nowadays for most retail shops with no customers on this Friday afternoon. Smart phones with cameras have had killed the compact camera business, Andrew said. So, the sales people in many retail shops are fiddling their thumbs, surfing the net or texting during office hours.

"One client's mother had lung cancer. The doctor certified that the disease was incurable. The mother got her insurance money. The mother prayed with faith. The family members were active in the church. One member adopted a stray dog and that was how I met them and got their story. The family prayed for her recovery. "She did not have lung cancer," the daughter-in-law said to me. "The doctor consider this a miracle healing. I still have the doctor's letter of no chance of cure to the insurance company!"

I narrated my unbelievable story to Andrew to let him know that some events are just unscientific and unbelievable.

P.S
In Singapore, the government builds HDB (Housing and Development Board) apartments cookie-cutter style. There will be a car park between apartment blocks. Trees will be planted. Bamboo poles are used as laundry pole to dry clothes instead of dryer machines. In the lower floors, the branches of mature trees can grow quite close to the apartments as shown in the images at:

VIDEO OF THE PARROT SAFELY BACK HOME IN 2018.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ITsPqPc76kg&t=35s

MORE INFO AT:

https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2015/11/2350-unbelievable-story-how-to-get-blue.html