Time flies. A month
has passed again and this was August 31, 2011. I was on
reception duty as that is the best way to know more
about the customer service provided by Toa Payoh Vets.
A father and son came at 6.30 pm with his son and a
broad chested Miniature Schnauzer. I took out his case
card. He was from a neighbourhood where there are two
vet clinics nearby just opposite his apartment.
"Why didn't you just go to the clinics nearby?" I asked
the father as part of my survey on customer service.
This is what most Singaporean pet owners will do. Why go
far away when the time can be spent better not
travelling.
There are at least 45 vet clinics in Singapore nowadays.
So, there is no shortage of vets to the benefit of
consumers, as in most businesses.
"My daughter prefers Toa Payoh Vets," the father said.
Female members of the family may have a higher say in
the choice of vets and veterinary surgery, from my
preliminary survey. A daughter who studies overseas in
marine biology in Australia had just instructed her
family members to bring a dog to me for treatment
earlier. The other daughter who phoned me to make an
appointment for her father's favourite Chinese Crested
dog
is another example of the young ladies making decisions
as to their choice of vets.
Services count and Dr Vanessa must have had provided
good services as nowadays she handles most of the cases.
A time to pass the baton.
What to do with this biting Schnauzer who has vomiting
and diarrhoea? "He even bit me when I tried to carry
him," the son showed me his left arm which was now OK.
"He was bashed with a slipper at the groomer till his
nose bled last time and so now he bites whenever anyone
tries to muzzle him."
"Has he been neutered?" I asked.
"Yes," he said.
So what to do?
I let Dr Vanessa handle this case. The dog went to the
consultation room. The two owners went in. Min had gone
out for dinner as it was already 6.30 pm. I waited
outside in the reception area for around 15 minutes.
Soon, the two owners and dog came out and waited outside
the Surgery patiently as the sun was setting. A quiet
peaceful time as twilight set in.
I was doing my administrative work, looking into past
case cards and checking the vaccination reminders. Why
were they outside for so long, another 15 minutes? I
went out to ask if they were looking for a taxi. "No,"
the father said. "I am waiting for your assistant to
come back from dinner." Dr Vanessa came out from the
consultation room to inform me too. She could not give
this dog his anti-vomiting and anti-diarrhoea injection
as the owners could not carry the dog onto the
consultation table without being bitten and she could
not cover the dog's head with a towel which I noted was
on her consultation table.
This Schnauzer was a bit plump but younger and alert. He
does not growl. He does not threaten. He was merely
cool. Just don't mess around with covering his head or
muzzling him or carrying him onto the consultation
table. He would just bite.
So, Dr Vanessa advised waiting for Min. Some clients do
come during certain lunch and dinner time as Dr Vanessa
does consult, unlike some surgeries where certain times
are closed. So, this is one period where Min had gone
out for dinner and she had to wait for him.
I phoned Min and he said he was having dinner. At around
7 pm, he returned and I said to the owners: "It is
sometimes better that you don't be around while they
restrain the dog for injection." They agreed to wait
outside the Surgery.
I let Dr Vanessa handle this case as usual. Another 15
minutes had passed. The father had come in from outside
and was sitting on the chair. There was loud barking in
the back of the surgery. "How many dogs do you have?" He
asked. "Around 5 dogs but from the barking, it seems I
have hundreds," I said. The father laughed and said:
"Young doctor taking a long time to inject the dog? Is
she your daughter?"
Youthfulness can be an advantage as many Singaporeans,
in my perception and research, prefer young vets. It is
sometimes a disadvantage in a ferocious biting dog case.
It was already more than one hour since the owners had
come. So, I opened the door to enter the back of the
Surgery. What was taking so long? In the room, I saw Min
holding a lasso rope which came out from a long stick
while another assistant was holding the leash of the
Schnauzer on the other side. Dr Vanessa was holding a
bigger muzzle at the right side of the dog. Her sedative
of domitor and ketamine for IM injection was on the
table. The Schnauzer was wary of Min whose lasso seemed
to be rigid and inflexible. His lasso had one end inside
a hollow tube. He held the tube and tried to lasso the
Schnauzer while the other assistant Tun held onto the
leash. As this lasso was inflexible, it did not work. So
back and forth. It was taking a very long time.
It was an impasse. Now, I had taught Min how to use the
original lasso which was of flexible plastic wrapped
rope. He had used his own make as this original lasso
had come out from the hollow of the pipe.
I had to intervene, being the leader. There was no
choice. It was already 7.30 pm. "Give me the original
lasso," I said to Min. He took it from the wall at the
back gate. It had no hollow tube as that had broken. But
the lasso end was still intact and so I loosen the rope
to make a bigger circle to lasso the dog, without the
pole. The pole was meant to protect the person holding
the lasso from being bitten as it gave some distance.
But the pole had broken and so I was holding the lasso
end and the remaining rope.
The Schnauzer moved his head. He did not threaten. Tun
held onto the leash. At the 3rd try, I manage to put the
lasso over his head and pulled it tight. The dog pulled
back his head in reaction. Tun held on to the blue leash
which was originally with the dog.
"Get ready to inject the domitor IM," I said to Dr
Vanessa as I held the dog firmly and upwards for a few
seconds. She said: "Domitor is ineffective. I tried
earlier on another dog. I am using domitor +
ketamine combination". I said: "OK."
She quickly held the dog's back leg and injected the
back muscle in the wink of an eye. "Wait 10 minutes," I
said. "The owner had instructed that he wanted the whole
dog clipped and groomed, including ear cleaning, anal
sac and toe nail clipping. At first he just wanted a
sedative to clip the backside as the dog would not
permit washing of the soiled backside from the
diarrhoea."
The whole process took more than one hour. I have been
focusing on shortening the process of veterinary work.
In this case, it can't be helped as Min is still
learning how to restrain ferocious dogs. Remember he was
bitten by a dwarf hamster just a few days ago?
Hands-on experiences are learnt only from handling the
real cases and this take time. Workplace safety for the
staff is paramount.
Still there needs to be a solution to treatment of a
ferocious dog for the owner who entrusts the vet to do
it. A simple thing as a lasso can still be difficult to
execute in practice as in this case when the tool
presented is broken. Sometimes we can't have the ideal
situation and I hope Min learnt from this coaching I had
just presented.
Every person is afraid of being bitten by ferocious dogs
but the vet is in charge and has to know what to do, to
resolve the problem satisfactorily and safely. The dog
was groomed without problem. "Don't bathe the dog?" Min
asked me when I phoned at 8.30 pm. I said: "You must
bathe the dog in warm water. His backside is dirty from
the diarrhoea stools," I said. The dog could now be
muzzled and bathe.
I still remember when I was a young vet. I muzzled a dog
for vaccination when a pet shop operator brought it in.
Later, I got a feedback from a client that this
pet shop operator was bad-mouthing me and telling others
behind my back: "Dr Sing is afraid of dogs! He muzzles
dogs for vaccination."
I don't muzzle every dog for vaccination and in fact,
seldom does it. Biting Pomeranians are muzzled as there
was no point getting my fingers bitten by sharp canine
tooth as I need my fingers for surgery.
But this pet shop operator expects vets to be bite-proof
and to have hidden powers to soothe all ferocious
beasts! Dog bites are the risk of veterinary science but
it does not mean that the staff must be bitten at any
time. Workplace safety is very important and it is the
responsibility of the vet to ensure that the staff is
safe from bites and scratches from dogs and eats. And
even from a dwarf hamster!
TOA
PAYOH VETS
