Carpe Diem - "Seize" The Day !

Our clinic ​received a call this afternoon at 12.50pm, 10 minutes before our morning session ends. The client told us that her pet is having seizures and that she had 4 seizures before she called us.​​The​ dog ​had a history of​ epilepsy​ and had​ come in before with the same complaint.
​Cluster seizures being an emergency,we agreed to wait and ​asked the client to bring in her pet as soon as possible.

Being prepared for the worst, I had one room cleared out, syringes filled with anti-seizure medications , one vet ready for placing an intravenous line and so on. Basically to stabilize her seizures as soon as possible,as I did not want to waste any time.

The client walked in with her seizing pet and my team already knew their roles ,they managed to do all of the above-mentioned things in less than 3 minutes and stabilized the seizure. Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and we then started talking to the client about a brief history and this conversation followed

Me : So when did your pet have her first seizure this morning.

Client : About 11.00am this morning ( which was 2 hour prior)

Me : Why didn't you call us before and bring her at 11am itself. (knowing that the client stays about 7 mins away from our clinic)

Client : Actually, we did take her to another vets clinic but the vet wasn't there. (Carpe Diem- A phrase meaning - "Seize" the day). We thought while she is at the vets, might as well get her groomed. So we trimmed all her hair,but she got 3 seizures during the grooming session and that's why we got her to you now.

Me : Speechless... I had nothing more to say.. I quietly walked out of the room..

Well,I do believe in the concept of parallel universes and I am still contemplating in which universe does a dog's hair trim have a higher priority than stopping a dog's seizures ...
Will let you know when I find the answer....

The Worst Vet Ever - My 1 Star Vet !

Two things Veterinarians all over the world have in common... First being their Vet degree certificate and the second being called "The Worst Vet Ever". I still remember surfing through the "Yellow Pages" directory for looking up for an electrician, a travel agent or a hospital and all the things I needed. 

With the recent advances in the tech world, just like all service providers, veterinary clinics and hospitals also need to have an online presence. The idea being that  it would help vet clinics highlight their services and help people to reach out  to them. A decade back came a website which changed the way people looked up things on the internet "Hot Or Not" . The idea of this website was to allow users to voluntarily submit their photographs online, both men and women, and the users of the website would rate them on a scale of 1 to 10 based on their "Attractiveness". The idea of the website was widely slammed for its obvious objectification of men and women, however it went on to be one of the most popular websites. Things really changed after that, everything needed to be quantified by giving it a rating, be it a coffee at your restaurant , to how an airline service fared, to how much did your neighborhood veterinarian fare on a scale of 10 ?

We are living in an age, wherein any frustrated individual hiding behind a computer can tear down anybody's reputation and gain an unbelievable sadistic pleasure feeding their own egos. I have had a chance to work with many fine veterinarians in the last couple of years and I had the chance of knowing them not only as veterinarians but also as human beings. They are all extremely dedicated and hardworking individuals, but if you happen to look them up online, there would be at least a couple of reviews portraying them otherwise. 

I have been to many service providers, be it healthcare, restaurants, travel companies. I never felt the need or the urge to go online and review each and every company. Who are the people writing these reviews. Its very simple, the first ones being the individuals who are extremely happy with your service and the ones who are extremely unhappy. It is the truth, statistically the most reviewed Veterinary clinics have either 5 Stars or a single Star. The reviews being so tangential makes one look like "Two Face" the DC comic Batman character.

An unknown proverb rightly states - 

"We might be the master of our own thoughts, still we are the slaves of our own emotions"

I have often failed to predict how an individual pet parent may react with their emotions ruling them. We veterinarians fully understand how much your pet means to you. We Veterinarians are very emotional about animals and value each and every life ! The fact is, unfortunately, our love for animals is the one thing held against us.

Emotions can make people unpredictable, I once had someone write a bad review only because they had to wait 10 minute past their appointment time for a general checkup for their pup. This was unexpected as I had stepped out and explained them that I was attending a 13 year old dog who had a severe neck pain and I can't ask him to leave till the time he was comfortable. Bang...  I woke up to a bad review the next morning. 

There have been times where in certain diagnostics or procedures/surgeries have been advised, because we understand that if the diagnostics are not done at the right time it may prove fatal to their pets. There are certain conditions which are time bound and Pet-Parents are sometime late to bring in their pets and the delay in the medical attention sometime fails to save their pets. I have myself seen many pet-parents losing their pets. The guilt of losing a pet is very hard to bear, some individuals chose to make Veterinarians as a soft target to dump their guilt onto. A quick and a simple way to do so, is to go online and write a bad review on their Vet's page. 

Harriet Beecher Stowe rightly said

"The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and deeds left undone"

I had the chance to work and to interact with some of the most amazing veterinarians across the globe. I understand the amount of passion and talent they have and how  they are the "Go To" Vets in case of particular pet ailments. However, these online reviews create a speck of a doubt in the minds of pet-parents and they lose out on opportunity for their pets to be seen by these vets.  

To summarize all I want to say is that, neither do these 5 stars make anyone a "Super Vet" and nor do the 1 Star make anyone the "Worst Vet Ever" . Take everything with a Pinch Of Salt !

How My Vet Killed My Pet !

~ A Sunday well spent brings a week of content... - Unknown

A string of three text messages woke me up last Sunday. The messages were from a client of ours who has an epileptic Beagle PoPo . I was startled when I read them... "Popo has been having seizures since Saturday evening 4.00pm (which means for the last 18 hours) and that now she was "Concerned". Popo has been suffering from epilepsy for the last couple of years and this was not the first time the clients had waited before they were "Concerned"

My first question was "Why did not you come over last evening itself"  Nevertheless, I checked on her,she said the seizures have stopped, for now ,checked her medication schedule and asked her to let me know if she still gets more seizures. As luck would have had it, Popo started seizing again. I knew she needed attention,I agreed to see Popo on my clinic's day off. I was on my way to the clinic wrapping up my Sunday chores, my phone rang a block away from my clinic..My wife answered the call as I was driving. The client said, " I think I should go back home,looks like you guys aren't coming over." She replied, we are about 300 meters away from our clinic and that we are coming over only because we are concerned about Popo's seizures and that she needs attention.

Ignoring the snide remarks (and our previous repeated turned down requests of getting her epilepsy diagnosed),we started stabilizing Popo, as per our clinic policy we briefed her about Popo's condition and expected complications and got a consent form signed. We told her that,since she has been seizing intermittently for over 18 hours, there is a possibility where she would go in a status epilepticus (a condition wherein the seizures would not stop) . We briefed her that we do not offer a 24 x 7 emergency services and that Popo will have to be admitted to a hospital.

As luck would have had it, Popo started seizing yet again few hours later, We again pleaded the client to get Popo admitted to a hospital,as we dread the "Status Epilepticus". As always,it was turned down by the client and she preferred "Wait and Watch". Popo had a rough night. The "Wait" ended when the "Watch" struck 8.30am. Popo had slipped into a "Status Epilepticus", a condition Vets all over the world dread. I was crushed not physically due to the fatigue of long week without a Sunday break,but emotionally because it could have been prevented if Popo was admitted to the hospital. Had just woken up,got ready. Stepped out of my home to find out that some miscreants had punctured all four tyres of my car. Somehow hailed an autorickshaw on a busy Monday morning. Reached my clinic somehow to find out Popo had not reached there yet... The client now called and wanted me to come home and "give Popo a shot to stop seizures". I told her there was nothing I can do at your home,just get her over so that we can stabilize her.

Popo finally arrived. She was seizing, had turned cyanotic (oxygen deprived) and her temperature had shot up to 108.6 F (wherein there is a risk of brain damage). Her seizures were refractory to the anti-epileptic medications. Stabilizing her this time, meant inducing a general anaesthesia and intubating her,hooking her to the monitoring equipment. We yet again stabilized her and pulled her back from an imminent death. We yet again briefed her the seriousness of Popo's condition. For the last time, we pleaded the client to get Popo admitted as this could happen again and she needs constant monitoring. She agreed this time and got her admitted to the hospital. Unfortunately, the seizures came back in the hospital too and got worse, Popo passed away the next day.

Popo's death awakened the mother in her as for now her Pet was her Daughter... There were abuses hurled upon in the hospital, accusations made. Interestingly not against the hospital where she passed away but directed towards my practice... The reason being " We were not available at my clinic at 8.30am on Monday morning when Popo went into a status epilepticus". Although we did try and make it to our clinic as soon as we could,we explained her yet again that,this was the precise reason we had requested a hospitalization the day prior.

The fact is, we Veterinarians are humans at the end of the day. It is humanly impossible for one person to be there for all emergencies. There is a reason why there are 24x7 emergency hospitals all over the world which the Veterinarians refer their patients to. I was feeling bad about the simple fact that,my team members were the ones who saved her,yet we were the ones facing slander. Frankly I was not disturbed by the accusations she made but disturbed by the fact that Popo could have been saved if she was admitted to the hospital last evening itself. The truth is we Veterinarians are soft targets for redirecting their guilt...  
 "How My Vet Killed My Pet" haunts every Veterinarian.


~ Sometimes there are no words, no clever quotes to neatly sum up what's happened that day..
Sometimes you do everything right, everything exactly right 
and Still you feel like you've failed....
Did it need to end that way...
Could something have been done to prevent this tragedy in the first place....





names have been changed. quotes from a television series.

Save your Pet by Saving for your Pet

 A hectic week was going to come to an end soon. It was a Saturday morning and my first appointment was here for an acupuncture session. An elderly gentleman well past his retirement age with his love of his life Jonty, an 8 year old Labrador, were eagerly waiting for me. Jonty had a cervical spine disease and they had travelled 3.5 hours from Pune to see us. I assured the gentleman in the consult room and he mentioned how saddened he was to see Jonty struggling to bear weight and to see him go downhill. It was something he never thought could happen and how it caught him unprepared. Jonty's parents were not an exception. We all face similar situations be it regarding our family, loved ones or pets. Medical insurance is a saviour when we have to face hospitalization or undergo any medical or surgical procedure. Unfortunately the concept of pet-insurances has not picked up yet in India, which leaves a big void in pet-healthcare.

                                                                            

Just like most of us plan for a child considering the social, moral and financial responsibilities, getting a Pet is no less than that. Keeping a pet is a Privilege! Meaning you can have a pet only if you are responsible and can take good care of it. The decision needs to be based on whether one has the pet the time it needs, to have the finances for its nutrition, hygiene and veterinary expenses and if one has the space for a pet.  Some expenses are Planned and some can be Unplanned. Unfortunately for most pet parents veterinary expenses are the "Unplanned" expenses.

Murphy's Law states : Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

The truth is no one can predict when your pet may need an emergency procedure. Medical and Veterinary research is advancing speedily. Modern advances in therapy come at a cost. The mounting costs creates a friction between the vet clinics/hospitals and pet-parents, which sometimes takes an ugly turn with no fault of the  Veterinarians.

Save your Pet by Saving for your Pet

 A healthy planning starts before getting a pet itself. Before planning to get a pet, we recommend that you understand the things that come in with it too. It is important that you be "Fair" to your pet by giving them the care they need at appropriate times. With the unavailability of "Pet-Insurances" we recommend Pet-Parents to start budgeting for routine recommended procedures, like neutering, dental care, vaccinations, annual wellness checks as well as potential emergencies. There are a number of investment plans that fetch you long term returns or you can go for small fixed deposits. I am not the best person in investment field to recommend the best saving plan, but I am sure you can ask a fellow professional Accountant or a Banker to recommend a saving plan which would help you save some income-tax as well as make good investments in the  long run

Coming back to Jonty's story... The gentleman mentioned that advanced diagnostics like MRI, was a mounting expense and he was heartbroken to hear about the expenses that a cervical spine surgery could come with. He wished he could go back in time and start saving for him the moment he went for his first puppy vaccinations. I agree, as veterinarians it is difficult to predict such incidents or diseases. Why not start a practice about educating pet-parents about the likely things you may need to save for. Eventually it all converts into your pet getting a better service . Nevertheless, Jonty did not need a spine surgery, he was on an intense pain-management and rehabilitation programme. Their efforts were handsomely rewarded, Jonty was back on all his fours and could walk again...

Happy Faces ~ The Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai Selfie with  Jonty

We pray that your Pet leads a healthy life,but saving for your pet gives you a sense of financial security. If your pet leads a healthy life.. The invested money is still yours !!
.

Charities of Convenience

9.55 pm, Mumbai. The July downpour was making it difficult for me to hear across the reception table. "Would that be Rs.300 (little less than 5$)  including the autorickshaw money", said a lady across my reception table. The question surprised me and I thought for a while that I heard the lady wrong. After gathering my calm I kindly said "No, I paid for your autorickshaw from my own pocket as you did not have the change. The Rs. 300 are the clinic consult charges. The receipt of the same will be emailed to you.” I tried to stay as composed as I could. "This is all a money making business,” she said “You do all of this just for the money!  You don't love animals."This statement was more than enough to numb me and my wife/colleague.

 Our practice shuts at 8pm everyday. Moments before we were about to step out, we received a call at about 8.20pm from a lady requesting us to see a dog. We said we are closed for the day and asked if we could schedule an appointment for the next day. She pleaded us to attend her dog as she had rescued it. She promised she would be there in 10 minutes. 

As luck would have it a  7 year old labrador walks in with a complaint of "not eating anything for the last 3 days". We were not surprised to see that she had a temperature of 106 F and all of us began stabilizing the 7 year old.
Ok... Getting back to the story...

"10 minutes later at 8.50pm" a lady walks in with a spitz who has a pink ribbon tied around his belly. She asked me, if I had a 100 Rs change for the autorickshaw. I took her in the reception and paid off the impatient rickshaw guy from my pocket as I did not have change of Rs.100 which the lady asked me for. We asked her to wait for a few minutes before we took her in.

The spitz was found abandoned at a railway station by the lady.  She called him Jimmy. I took a bowl filled it with food and offered it to Jimmy. He finished it up within no time. I gave him water to drink and he gulped it down like there was no tomorrow. The lady then said he has a wound on the left front leg (suspected dog-bite) and would like us to have a look. Jimmy once again looked at the food bowl with an expectant expression on his face. I knew that expression and offered him some more food. He thanked me with a happy wagging tail and lunged his way into the food bowl. While he was eating, the lady told me that she had called up a rescue organization which she frequents but unfortunately they had not attended her calls. As it was very late she said she could not travel to the shelter to board him but neither could she take him home. I passed on contacts of some rescuers/foster places I knew and asked her to see if they could help Jimmy.

Jimmy had finished his food and looked up with content. I requested her to pick him up and put Jimmy on the table for me to examine. She tried but I guess he was anxious and would try to snap whenever she tried to lift him. I tried to pick him up but with the same result. I told her not to do it anymore for her own safety, as we did not know his vaccination status against rabies (Rabies is a very endemic in Mumbai) . We skipped that idea and examined the wound hands-off. The wound was healing very well with a granulation tissue. The wound was clean and needed no debridation. Being cautious we decided to clean the wound by squirting betadine repeatedly and sprayed it with a fly repellent spray to prevent maggots. We then asked her to get Jimmy vaccinated by the vets at the shelter house she frequents as it would be less expensive there.

It took about 35-45 minutes for the consult. Before making the payment she said she will leave Jimmy at our clinic and withdraw money from the ATM. We said there is no need for that she can swipe her debit/credit card at our reception, which she refused. She left him and was gone for 10 minutes to withdraw money from the ATM, we heaved a sigh of relief as she came back!

"Would that be Rs.300 ( 5$) including the autorickshaw money”, she asked.

The rest is history... 

We "tried" to make her understand that we have just charged minimum clinic charges for giving her our time, waiting till 10pm despite our regular clinic time of 8.00pm. Neither have we levied any after-hour/emergency consult charges, nor have we charged her for the little betadine we squirted or the food we offered. It was a little gesture we did from our side for the furry soul.

In spite of those harsh "money making business" charges alleged on us, we did not ask the lady to step out of our premises. People forget veterinarians have emotions and expect us to have resilience even against abuses. Despite the lady's rudeness we allowed her to wait in the reception as it was pouring outside. The lady continued to wait for 10 more minutes till she found a response from one of the rescuers who could keep Jimmy overnight. The only consolation out of this fiasco was to hear that Jimmy found a roof over his head for the night...

We try to help as many dogs and cats that walk in to our clinic, but such words do set us back emotionally. Charity from our side means not levying an after-hour consult charge or any emergency charges and helping them in whatever way we can.
 We work out of love for animals but we are often emotionally blackmailed to get things done as per people’s wishes. Our estimate of charges is displayed at the waiting area which mentions the minimum clinic charges for any services. We also pay our staff overtime in cases of extended hours of work. We have to pay rents, loans, salaries, distributors for our clinic supplies, electricity and we also have families. We are humans and also feel hungry and thirsty! We forget all our human needs when we work and try to do our best in every way we can…

"Charity" means the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing.

But these days the word "Charity" has been reduced to "Expecting the opposite person to do all the things for you and that too for free". If you don't get what you wish, curse the opposite person and drive them into a guilt trip. Our love and compassion for animals is not only the Armour but also the Heel of Achilles.
Thats the thing that keep us going all along and the thing that can hurt us the most... 

Just a humble request to all the so called "Charity" and Animal Welfare people, if you think charity means tying a nylon ribbon around the waist of a dog and bringing him over to a clinic and expecting things for "Free" … It is not! Charity means owning up to a responsibility and doing whatever it takes for its cause....