"Most Chihuahuas give birth naturally." the breeder continued. "So, how to tell the one that need Caesarean section? I can read all the books but they don't enlighten me much."

"It is by careful observation of the change in behaviour, the taking of the rectal temperature and the duration of the labour pains." I replied. "The 12 hours' delay not only kill the puppies, but the mother might die too."

The bitch was in a state of shock. The womb which normally would be enveloped by a glistening film of  peritoneal fluid was as dry. 

Would the bitch survive the operation? 

"Not only is your business affected by the loss of the puppies and possibly the bitch," I said to the manager. "In delivering dead puppies and a dead mother, my professional reputation would be adversely affected."

After 12 hours, the first puppy stuck in the birth canal had decomposed and the toxic placental fluid killed the second one.  

I was angry and sad. Angry at waking up past midnight and sad that the manager had to learn the hard way through deaths of two puppies.

The first pup was stiff. It was too large and I had to incise a long hole in the womb to get it out. I pulled out the right hand but the rest of the body was too hard to be pulled out.

I pushed the hand back. It was swollen. Then I pushed the head back into the womb to re-position it. 

Could this pup come out? There was not much space to manoeuvre. The bladder was in the way and I must be careful not to cut it.

The small intestinal loops slided into the small surgical area and must be pushed away. The bitch was breathing heavily. Her heart was beating furiously. Would she die of heart attack?

Finally I took the pup out. Its big head was flattened by being stuck in the birth canal, obstructed and unable to come out. Its pale pink tongue stuck out as if it had been gasping for oxygen to survive. 

The second pup had no chance of being born and was killed by the delay. It was jammed inside the left uterine horn blocked by the the first pup which was stuck in the vagina.

There was no way I could manipulate it out. The uterine muscles were paralysed. Rigor mortis, the stiffening of the muscles after death had occurred. The only way was to make a cut into the uterine horn above this pup.  So, now there were two incisions instead of one.

The second pup pressed its head with its hands, as if suffering from the head ache. It was still enclosed in its amniotic sac which had ruptured from its lower half of the body. It was dried up.

All surgeons care about their reputation. In this case, the manager would have told others that the veterinary surgeon delivered dead puppies. If the mother had died, he would say that she died as a result of the Caesarean section.  The surgeon would be perceived as incompetent. 

As vets, I could not choose to perform  Caesarean sections only on good healthy bitches.  Such toxic puppies invariably come but this was the worst of cases. 

The deaths could be avoided. The bitch was already in its 62nd day and had milk. An elective Caesarean delivery at 60th day would be ideal as she had large pups.  But no breeder like Caesareans.

Alternatively, after 2 hours of labour pains with no puppy, the emergency Caesarean would have saved the two puppies. It was easier to write retrospectively what the breeder should or should not have done.

The bitch was young and I hoped she could recover and live.  She would need Caesareans since the womb might rupture if she gave birth naturally.

It was nearly 2 a.m, but the Pan Island Expressway near by was bustling with cars and taxis speeding past.

When I followed up two days later, the bitch was having difficulty passing urine.  This was one of the consequences of difficulties in giving birth in women but seldom reported in the dog.  I gave her a pain killer and she recovered the next day. 

Extracts from the Asiahomes.com Book: How Your Puppy Can Live Longer  
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow), MRCVS. Buyers interested in this book, email to judy@asiahomes.com
 

It was a beautiful blue grey Chihuahua with a pure white collar. It had a full collar, meaning that the whole neck had a ring of white.

A full white collar is much appreciated by Chihuahua lovers (see picture of one Chihuahua puppy with a full collar.). It is hard to breed one with a full collar and Chihuahuas don't produce many puppies in the first place. 

The taxi driver waited.  It was nearly midnight and his charges would be doubled.

The following report, written in 1998 sponsored by www.asiahomes.com. It is a training article for Asia USA Rental Realtors. It illustrated the importance of qualifying apartments within 15 minutes by  bus or subway to the expatriate's office in order to close quickly.   It demonstrated to Landlords why some units are easier to rent than others.

Email No. 1
To: Asia USA Realty,
Sent: Sunday, October 04, 1998 8:36 AM
Subject: Re: condo for rent

Peter wrote:

Dear Sir, Madam,
I would like to enquire with you for a condominium for rent. I will move to Singapore with my fiancée by the end of October on on a permanent basis. I will give you the information as requested on your webpage. We will both be working at Chai Chee Industrial Park, so we would prefer an apartment close to that. A short distance to the MRT would be highly appreciated as well. The apartment should have at least 900 sq. ft. and preferably with 2 bedrooms. Our rental budget (personal lease) will be up to 2.500 S$ and the apartment should be available from the 1st of November '98. As my Hotel booking is not confirmed yet, I can't provide you with an address in Singapore. You can contact me at Peter at email address or my fiancée, ….at email address……I'm looking forward to hear from you soon.

Email No. 2
It would be great if there would be something available for viewing on the 1^st of Nov. as we both start to work on the 2nd. and are only available during the evenings, until the next weekend. Maybe you could give me an general overview about the common practice of renting in Singapore in the meantime.

This article also provides the answers to the training lesson for
New Realtors of Asia USA Realty.

Case Study: Realtors, closing on young, European couple,
both working information technology professionals.

Profile: <35 years old, European couple relocating to Singapore to work for German branch of software company.
Rental budget: Maximum S$2,500 fully furnished condo.
Requirements: See email above.

House hunting Condos with Peter and fiancée.
Listings below are available for Rent as at November 5, 1998:

1. Tanglin Regency 2 bedroom 850 sq ft $2,200 p/f. No view. 5-minute walk to Redhill subway. Commuting time too long from the Chai Chee Industrial Park although it is new and close to downtown. Space of less than 990 sq ft.
   
2. Melville Park 2 bedroom 990 sq ft $2,000 f/f - pinewood beds and tables all appealing to the Europeans. Unobstructed views from living/dining room. 8-minute walk to Simei subway.
   
3. The Bayshore 2 bedroom 900 sq ft $2,800 f/f. Europeans just loved the resort ambience. Sea view with construction activity below 22^nd floor. Need to take shuttle bus to Bedok subway.
   
4. The Tanamera 3+1 1500 sq ft $2,500 f/f, 12^th floor. 5-minute walk to the Tanamera subway. Purple striped pink headboard of master bedroom, green cabinet separating living and dining area, pink, yellow, green kitchen cabinets all resulting in a multi-coloured apartment. Squarish mirror pieces on walls of living room. Facing away from subway train-line. Multi-coloured purple strips apparently worried the European couple. The use of a living/dining room separator, the green cabinet was not favoured by the Europeans as it obstructed view on entering condo. This unit has cornices and walled mirror too and is value for money.
    
5. The Tanamera 2+1 1335 sq ft $2,500 f/f, 12^th floor. Panoramic green tree and city views from living/dining room and master bedroom. Water view (of brown water in reservoir-type ground storage) from the master bedroom. Worn out black living set and needed re-painting. Can see subway trains. Apartment should be painted first to be short-listed.
   
6. The Tanamera 2+1 1335 sq ft $2,500 f/f, 8^th floor. "Interior-designer" apartment. Big one-piece mirrored wall to give illusion of bigger living room, new light pink (peach) living set 3+2 positioned to see green vacant field when you sit down. The master bedroom has built-in fixed head-board for a queen-sized bed, but many Caucasians like king-sized beds.  A new family-sized refrigerator was provided, unlike the small ones in above 2 Tanamera units.
   
   Cornices and spotlights in living area. Walls painted with special type of paint (dotted granular type uncommon in rental properties). A small sofa seat for Tenants near main door. Built-in pinewood type writing/computer table in 2^nd bedroom. Not much view but who cares? Previously rented for $4,000.
   
7. Astoria Park 2+1 around 1000 sq ft, $2,500. 3-minute walk to the Kembangan subway. Layout of condo did not appeal to this European couple.

Conclusion:
The choice was condo No. 6.  Newly remodelled condos have had a higher success rate in attracting Tenants if the rent is competitive or below competitors.

As the prospect had no cheque book and such a renovated interior-designer unit is rarely available, Asia USA forwarded funds first and transferred the utility account on November 5, 1998 after the  Landlord had signed the Letter of Intent. Time is of the essence in such cases.

Deposits, how much typically and due when ?

Security Deposit: 2 months' rent as security deposit.

Advance Rent: 1 month's rent as advance rental for the first month.

Stamp fees: Stamp fees for stamping of the tenancy agreement are payable by the Tenant and are calculated (for less than 3 year leases as follows:

($2,500 x 12 x 2/250) + 2 or $242 in this case where rent is $2,500 per month for a 2-year lease.

Utilities Deposit:
Utilities deposit for opening account and refundable at end of lease is $150 (if you pay monthly utility bills electronically) or $250 if you pay by cheque.

Fees for the Realtors? Who pays and how much?

For private properties which you will be leasing, Tenant does NOT pay. Industry's practice is one month's rent/2-year lease secured payable by the Landlord. Some Landlords pay 1.5 months but this is exceptional. (Update:  In 2004, if rentals are below $2,500, the prospective Tenant pays half a month rent as commission to the agent).

Are the lease contracts usually time-limited?

Yes.
Lease contract (Tenancy agreement) usually from 1 or more than 1 year.  The Letter of Intent to lease usually valid for 3-7 days depending on negotiation.

However, prospective Tenants may think that the Landlord will not be able to lease to other parties upon receipt of the good faith deposit or holding deposit.    The Landlord is not committed to renting the apartment to the prospective Tenant even if he has received the holding deposit.

Some Landlords fish for the best offer from the Letters of Intent and may return the holding deposits of other agents.  The Letter of Intent is subject to contract.  If the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement are not satisfactory to both parties, then the holding deposit will be returned. 

Therefore, time is of the essence for the expatriate if he wants his choice residence.

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