Yesterday, an old realtor acquaintance phoned me at home.
His 10-year-old Golden Retriever was ultrasound scanned by
the "most expensive" veterinary practice in Singapore. The
vet said his dog has cysts in the prostate and bladder
stones and advised surgery to remove the stones.
"My dog is so old," he said over the phone. "I don't want
him to be chopped up."
"Was a urine test done?"
"No," he said.
"How many stones were there?"
"I don't know," the realtor said to me in a worried
voice.
"Were the stones big or small?"
"I don't know," the realtor who is as big-sized as
his Golden Retriever replied.
"Were X-rays done?" I asked.
"No," he was sure of that.
In many Singapore families, the dog is family and so the
best vet in Singapore should be the best for the pet. The
brand-name veterinary surgery.
Unfortunately, the pockets need to be very deep as
veterinary costs may be 3-5X the average vet. "Frankly,
I can't afford the surgical fees in this practice," the
realtor who was not having much income said. "That is why
I seek a second opinion from you." He has not consulted me
for many years and this is common amongst Singaporean dog
owners who tend to doctor-hop and to look for the glitz
and presentation of new clinics or proximity. It is good
that they have an estimated 50 choices of veterinary
practices in Singapore. Brand-name and beautiful
veterinary practices certainly attract Singaporeans who
are used to wanting the best things in life.
"There are some types of bladder stones that can be
dissolved by special diet," I said. "If you have time,
bring the dog to me for urine collection and testing at
9.30 am tomorrow (Sep 18, 2012)."
"My dog pees all at around 8 am when I take him out," he
laughed.
"You can try to collect a clean sample of urine from him.
Wait for a few seconds and collect the middle stream into
a urine collection bottle which you can get from the
polyclinic."
Urine analysis is important in the diagnosis and treatment
of urinary bladder stones.
See my article to educate dog owners at:
http://www.kongyuensing.com/folder8/20120724struvite_stones_dogs_toapayohvets.htm