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The vet refused to make house calls anymore

"The vet who had been here three times now refused to come any more and had asked me to use the pet transport service," Mr Chan said in the Cantonese dialect. "The pet taxi person charges $50.00 for the transport of the dog to-and-fro and this would cost me more." 

Mr Chan, a big man in his late fifties was the type with broad shoulders and a size which fitted perfectly and comfortably in his big Mercedes, was brutally frank.  

The first veterinary surgeon had just set up his first practice which was within a one-minute drive to the house. The vet's house-call charges as displayed in his surgery was fifty - sixty dollars. It did not make sense for Mr Chan to pay the pet transport man fifty dollars.   Why pay more when an animal doctor charges the same amount as the animal taxi person?  The latter may injure his Rottweiler in the process of moving too? This was sound economics and sensible practice for the baby boomer generation.  

In times of recession, the customer is king and will go for the least cost service provider. To win more accounts, newer practitioners under price the established competitors. They do build up the practice fast and then become too busy to make it worth their while to make house calls which can take as long as one hour including travelling time.  

I approached the Rottweiler carefully as I had been attacked before while vaccinating one of the nervous looking type which was not controllable by the owner. It bit me on my ankle just after I had vaccinated him. 

Will this one bite even though he could not lift up his head more than 30 cam from the tiled pavement?  He was down but not out and had been lying on his right side for the past five days. On his large swollen right fore limb.  A Sri Lanka maid cared for him, feeding him and giving him water and keeping him very clean. He had normal appetite and normal bowel and bladder movements but was recumbent on one side and would not stand up.

"As you can see, this Rottweiler is too heavy to be transported to a veterinary surgery for examination." Mr Chan justified the need for a house call. I did not say anything but he was right. It would need two men to lift the overweight Rottweiler on a stretcher.

Did the big dog fracture his leg when the younger dog jumped onto him?

Was there any hope of recovery using drugs?  Many Singaporeans believe that drug injections can cure many medical problems in their dogs.   

I palpated his spinal area cautiously and ascertained there was no spinal injury. Using finger pressure, I could detect the painful areas. As I proceeded to press on his left shoulder area which was upper most, Mr Chan interrupted with a louder than usual voice, "Doc, his right fore limb is the problem area."

Mr Chan pointed his right forefinger exasperatedly to this part of the canine anatomy to me, as if I was a blind veterinarian. Was it not obvious and why was I fiddling away his time checking on the other body parts of his beloved dog? What he wanted were injections as the problem was obvious.

This was the first time he had met me and would not know that I had a small animal surgery. 

Maybe I should have presented my credentials such as a name card and resume and not just sauntered into his house without the trusty black bag of a Singapore doctor dressed in long sleeves and a tie. And a stethoscope hanging round his neck. Short sleeves and no ties did not make good impressed Mr Chan. Maybe, a veterinarian should wear bow ties, white long-sleeved shirt, black pants and shiny black shoes and sport a moustache to command respect. Like a professor.

Mr Chan had phoned Mr Formicelli, the breeder who sold him the dog, for help after the first veterinarian did not want to make house calls any more. Mr Formicelli's groomer, Jenny had asked me to follow up. I seldom make house calls as most Singaporeans would not want to pay more. The dog would be more aggressive at its home and the owner may not be able to control it. Furthermore, the dog might run out of the house and the owner would not be paying a cent, since there was no case to treat!

Mr Chan had controlled his impatience.  "I have to check all parts of the body, whenever possible," I explained to Mr Chan. "His left shoulder area which looks normal on the surface, is extremely painful too and that was why he did not want to lie down on his left side for the past five days."

The big dog could not swing his jaws to bite me as he felt the intense pain when I touched his left shoulder. Rottweilers are dangerous dogs. Excellent guard dogs not to be under estimated.

"Where is your doctor's black bag of drugs?" Mr Chan asked incredulously probably suspecting that I was not a veterinary surgeon. I did not carry my bag into his house as I parked my car outside his house. I was not in a hurry and therefore had thought of seeing the dog first before taking out my paraphernalia. 

Mr Chan must be used to doctors carrying a bag on house calls and probably wondered whether I was a bona fide veterinarian. 

To alleviate his concern about my professionalism, I explained, "I treat horses too and my drugs are kept in a multi-drawer container inside the boot."  I quickly went out and carried in a drawer full of bottles of drugs for equine treatment and which, of course, included drugs for his dog too. To Mr Chan, they were horse drugs since I had said I treated horses but had not said I treated dogs too. 

The Rottweiler had a serious sprain high up on his right fore limb, most likely the muscle injuries, leading to bleeding internally and swelling. This condition was seen in horses after a severe traumatic injury during exercise. The whole limb would be swollen, like an elephant's leg. 

Would the drugs used to treat such a condition in horses work in this Rottweiler at the appropriate dose?  These drugs are recommended for canines too but most dog and cat veterinarians would not have stocked such drugs. After all, such cases in the dog due to traumatic injuries are very rare. 

I decided to use the same medical treatment as I would have done for the horse. 

Mr Chan was asked to turn the dog to rest on the other side every six hours to prevent pressure sores and lung congestion due to lying on one side for so many days. I inserted a long piece of towel under his chest and pulled him out on the other side. The maid and I tried to pull him out and turn him on his left side. It was not possible. 

Anyway, he had lots of fat and should not get pressure sores. 

Did the painkiller injections work? They do very well for horses. This was the first time I had tried on a dog. I told Mr Chan to continue with the medication and the vitamins provided by the first veterinarian and left. 

Two weeks later, Mr Chan popped by at my surgery to ask for more vitamins and the antibiotics which had been prescribed by the first veterinarian.  He said his dog was a bit lethargic but his dog could now walk but preferred to sit down.  

"There is no need for antibiotics or vitamins," I said. "Reduce his weight. Don't give him so much of your soup from your table as they could be fatty," I said.

"He always asks for food," Mr Chan said sheepishly. He really loved this big dog to go through all the trouble to get a veterinarian to do a house call and now he wanted the multivitamins to pep up his best friend. 


"It must be the equine drugs you used," he acknowledged. What worked for horses would definitely be more potent and work for dogs with traumatic injuries. Actually the drugs were also meant for dogs too at the appropriate dose.

I had to go to his house to check as I did not give a good prognosis for this Rottweiler who had been recumbent on his right side for five days. Some pragmatic owners would recommend euthanasia as the dog was old and had cost them more veterinary treatment fees. But not Mr Chan.


I was not able to converse with the maid but her face glowed with the happiness of a person who had good news of good health. 

The dog rolled up his eyes to full alert status and was wary of me. He was not pleased to see me. Would he pounce on me to take revenge for the injections? I had to be careful not to antagonise him. Definitely, the drugs had worked to reduced swelling and pain and the old friend could now live a normal life again. As for the big growth below his toe, a simple operation could remove it but I dared not take any anaesthetic risk on this fat dog. Mr Chan just purchased the anti-fly powder to get rid of flies.     

I met Mr Formicelli's groomer later. She knew I had charged one hundred dollars for the house-call. 

"You charged too low," she said as she puffed her fifteen cigarette for the day. "Mr Chan can afford the fees. Why didn't you "kutup" him?"  

I presume "kutup" is a Malay word and meant "slash" meaning to charge Mr Chan higher fees as he lived in a house and owns a Mercedes. He could therefore afford to pay for house calls unlike pet owners who live in public housing. 

"I rather not make house calls as saving money is important to the cost- conscious Singaporean pet owner and besides it is dangerous to handle aggressive dogs and I may not have the relevant microscope or equipment to help me make a diagnosis." I said to Jenny.  

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