1219Singapore
pet health and welfare educational for
animal lovers, excerpts from The Glamorous Vets,
Singapore, sponsored by AsiaHomes Internet.
Last Updated: 08 January, 2002
The old dog or the
baby grand-daughter must go.
"We have a baby, my grand-daughter, "said the proud grandfather who brought
in a
17-year old mongrel to the veterinary surgery for advice after an absence of
10 years.
"Do you think this dog's bad breath will be infectious and cause sickness in the
baby?"
"It will be no good for the baby's lungs if she breathes in the foul smell from the
dog's breath as there are many bacterial germs inside the bad breath. Do you want to put it to
sleep?" I asked. Some owners felt comfortable if the
veterinarian endorsed euthanasia.
"My wife will not permit it," Mr Shaw said. Most Singapore
women will not even contemplate euthanasia of an old dog of 17 years because of
halitosis. Fewer of the over 50-year-old Singaporeans know that the rotten breath
in the dog will disappear if the decaying teeth are the cause and when
they are extracted, there is no halitosis.
I put the senior canine citizen onto the examination table. To be able to
live up to 17 years of age or the human equivalent of 119 years old and
still have teeth, is a rare case.
On checking his heart, there was a gross heart
murmur. He would be a risky patient as he could just die under anaesthesia. He
would not permit anybody to open his mouth and you could not blame him as he must have a
gigantic tooth ache with tooth decay and cavities.
Should I put the dog under risk of anaesthesia or not? What are the other
options?
If the dog dies on the operating table, I will be remembered as the
person responsible for its untimely death. In past cases, some members of the family
had been known to get angry as they were not present at the consultation
and were not "forewarned" about the risks of
anaesthesia in a dog with heart disease. Some do write complaints to the regulatory
authorities. Fees would not be paid.
I could ask Mr Shaw to sign a warning about anaesthetic risk form.
Occasionaly one member of the family would assuage his anger by writing a
complaint of incompetence to the veterinary authorities and warn friends
by email not to go to the veterinarian who had killed his or her dog.
Surprisingly, naive Singaporean friends in a modern developed Singapore of
2001 still forward such emails to warn other friends. I had one case
where strangers and friends informed me of such an email, an effective
viral marketing method via the internet.
If the dog did not undergo any treatment, his halitosis would disappear with some
antibiotics, but he would need antibiotics regularly for the rest of the
dog's life and that could be another three years.
Human patients
seldom comply with the instructions to take medication. Less
compliance would be expected of dog owners. He would be a pariah as
worries about the baby's
health meant that he would be kept outside the house or be given away.
Mr Shaw was aware of the risks and had consulted his wife. A light
tranquiliser and gas anaesthesia were given. The dog survived the anaesthesia and dental extraction
gave it a new lease of life.
 17-year old with remaining teeth 2
days after dental extraction. Back molars were encrusted with thick tartar deposits. They were loose and
easily pulled out. A 2.5 cm disc-like gum tumour was removed.
Few good teeth
remain. Deep tranquilisation with xylazine IM was done.
Four back molars were the only big teeth left. They just needed a
light pull to be extracted. This indicated that the roots had
decayed. Surprisingly, around 5 of the teeth still had strong roots and
were not extracted. At 119 human equivalent years, most people
would not have any teeth standing. Yearly or regular dental
scaling will have saved more teeth as this mongrel.
Note: Dental scaling prevents tartar build up and infection of the roots of the teeth.
Healthy teeth and gums mean least infection of the heart valves and formation of mouth
tumours in older pets.
Note: Halitosis (bad breadth) is a problem that all of us
experience at one time or another. Poor oral hygience was the most
common cause of bad breath. Periodontal disease was the second most common
cause. The most effective treatment was periodic dental cleanings
and oral hygiene instructions. Source: The Complete Guide to
Better Dental Care, 1997. Taintor & Taintor. Pg. 130-131.
Available at the National Library, Singapore. .
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