SPCA Children's Educational Camp

This is the first time i involved in such camp... Just for a few hours... in charged of the exotic pets station...Mainly reptiles (turtle and snake)
e.g. Red Ear slider, chinese soft shell turtle, Burmese Peacock soft shell turtle, yellow belly turtle, box turtle, Flyriver turtle, dark leave turtle, boa constrictor, Burmese python, albinao burmese python.


I held on the boa constrictor and pretend that I'm the owner and answering questions from visitors and children... ...Regret that shouldn't i forgot to bring camera to capture this first time experience.

Q: What do you feed to it?
A: Rat...( I heard it from the owner)

Q:Where do you get the rat?
A: Buy it.

Q: Wah... very expensive, right?
A: Nope... don't get those hamster... I got white mouse...

Q: How does it eat??
A: Open its mouth... by dislocating the jaw... (Follow exactly the same how the boy has explained to me before)

Q: Oh.. What happened to the skin?
A: Shedding...

Q: Does it shed for its whole life?
A: (Stuck) ah... Ya... probably... because the skin won't grow as the snake grow bigger...so, has to shed in order to get bigger...

Q: what is the white thing coming out from the backside?
A: It is the stool of the snakes.

Some other questions that sounds funny:
Q: is this worm or snake? ( a boy looking at a very small cobra)
A: It is worm. You can put your hand in...
Then, the boy said: Nope, i think it is a snake...
A: Na lah... it is a worm. You try to put your hand in...

Q: Can i eat this ? ( looking at the Chinese soft shell turtle)
A: Boy, remember, this is SPCA camp :>

Doctor, do you treat Dinosaur!?

Wow, what a challenging question to ask to a vet?? ? This was a question asked by an international school kid while they were having a " Lawatan sambil Belajar".......

Scratching her head, my boss answered:' oh ya... if you can find me one, of course I will try to treat it!" Ha...Ha...

Then, some funny questions were:
Q: " How Panther mate?"
A: " They just mate like a cat, because they are cat."

Q: "Why your dog there, one eye big and one eye small?"
A: " he just like that, I can't control him"

Of course, there are more sensible questions rather then this because the kindergarten's teacher will act as QC and stop the question when she thought it is too lame.

some of them even asked how they can become a vet... Wow... At this point... no bad huh...
Education should started since small...
Now lots of them know it is good to vaccinate, dewormed and neutered their pets... ...
Then, it is kind of good to have this potential client educated and bring their pets here... ...

A Dog Rescuer that comes to Vet almost everday?!

During my first week of working, there was an owner, who brought dogs everyday to our clinic. After that, only i knew she is actually a stray dog rescuer. Every time she comes, she will make a buzz in the clinic...

She call me " Hey , miss "ami-ami" ( in Hokien means What), help me to take tissue papar, this dog is vomiting." When I wanted to go into the examination room to take tissue for her., then I heard " Hei, miss ami-ami, here got tissue, why go so far to take? "Apparently I was new there, and not so sure where the things were put. Then, she continued:" Aiya, you should know better than me wa, you work here one wo, not me ." Then the same story were told to our receptionist in a very loud voice ... ... Afraid that it can't get to everybody's ears... ...A la, feel so shame...

But she is kind of fair that she did this to everybody even the client! Our clinic got one rule that everybody has to abide by-- Take off shoes before entering the clinic. This is quite strange and i have never see this practice before in small animal clinic any elsewhere .

There are no signboard or anything to tell that we must take off our shoes. That's why lots of new client and even me didn't take off our shoes when we were first here. And one fine day, again our regular dog rescuer is here, talking with our receptionist, then a very well dressed lady entering our clinic without taking off her shoes, then we all heard: " Hei, mis, why you wearing shoes inside the clinic one!? Aiya.. no common sense one, bring in all the germs, very dirty one, you know..."
Oh oh... the lady look so Pai Se and quickly turned back to take off her shoes... ... " This is really good for us that we no need to remind the owner when she is here.. to remind .. them, Always!!

And one more thing is that she is so "kepoh"... ...she would give client education to every clients that come. I remembered that she hastened us to to do her bill faster, as she has some important work to do, then came a client with her fierce dog. The dog was so fierce that both me and my assistant can't handle. Then she came in with the owner saying that she can help to handle the dog, but when she see the dog... She said: " Aiya, you never teach your dog to be more sosiable ah... Like that how to handle?!" Eh, they are friends??? This was what i thought... or else she will be gone after taking her bill. Then, my boss came, confused that so many people in the examination room. Then, guess what she said"?" Anybody here can handle the dog, you? You? you? If no body, everybody goes out and let me do it, Ok?!"


She got hundreds of stray to be vaccinated, castrated and spayed. Really don't know where she got the money. Heard she got some donation. she even brought one dog that was abused until half of the face being chopped off. Then my boss have to do re constructive surgery to put the face back.

Of course, now we are still doing the vaccination, castration, spaying and treatments for all her dogs...like a never finish story. Again it is of course " Kira Murah" one for a dog rescuer... ...

May God bless her, as she has safe lots of dog's life by the road side and give them a better life... And it is also so much fun with her around the clinics... Ha..Ha...

When both the dogs and the owners also can't talk?!

As a vet, the foremost thing to learn is to ask appropriate history in order to know more about the dog and to give proper treatment. I have never encountered a situation ,in which an owner came with a dog, which of course can't voice out what happened to it, and in fact, the owner is also mute.

This is my first experience. I tried very hard to use all my body language to ask a question, and forgot about the most useful tools should be used in first place to help me, which are a pen and a paper. The mute owner is in fact a highly educated person. He knows English pretty well. Is just that the way his wearing and the outlook of the dog, i have underestimated him. Luckily, my boss had had such client before, she knew how and what to do. I felt i was so embarrassing at that time for not doing the right thing... somehow, I was consoled that" it's ok, because this is my first time." Ya, I knew what to do next time when both the dogs and the owner also can't talk.

We quickly wrote on the patient card there-- "OKU". It means Orang Kurang Upaya. And we didn't charged for consultation fees for OKU even though we have to take more time to ask history and to give advice to OKU. This is the normal practice here in Penang, even an Indian barber shop can cut hair for free for OKU... ... I can learn more even both the dogs and the owner also can't talk.