Mark picked it up and showed me. I ignored it. Later on, he still showed me that the prospect had been to the competitor.
"It is quite normal for prospective clients to shop around," I said. "The cost of living is very high for the heartlander and in this neighbourhood."
I did not tell Mark, but I thought: "The Singapore bureaucrats think of ways and means of increasing fees for licensing products and services in the name of safety and other reasons. These bureaucrats don't need to worry.
"At the end of the month, they get their salary and bonuses at the end of the year. But every now and then, they will announce a new ruling to safeguard consumer interest."
With the new ruling, fees have had to be paid for new services and so the costs of living go up yearly.
It is tough for many ordinary pet owners and for many vets as they struggle with higher costs of licensing fees, salaries and other mandatory payments too. There is an economic boom on the stock and property market but I doubt many heartlanders who don't work have much benefits.
"The fee including general anaesthesia and surgery is $150." I said to the lady in her late forties.
"Any discount?" she asked as she showed me a card from a pet shop I vaccinated puppies.
"It is as low as possible." I said. The reason for the lump was an encapsulated abscess and it was growing bigger, according to the lady. Antibiotics would not work in this case. This is an area of injection, so my first diagnosis would be an encapsulated abscess rather than a tumour in this puppy.
"No pain for the puppy at all," the lady said. "But it grows bigger day by day."
I palpated the lump. Pressed it. It was hard as a rock, but the puppy did not bother with the pressure.
In any case, it would be best to remove it if it was growing bigger.
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