25. Who will rescue a pregnant damsel in distress?

Singapore's 42nd National Day or 42th birthday
Porridge with sweet potatoes dinner at Jalan Leban.


Do I have a poor sense of humour? Yesterday, I tried to tell a joke during dinner to my family but nobody laughed.

At the dinner, there were 3 young adults of around 20 years old. 1 girl and 2 boys and the mother.

I said, "Zoe Tay was reported in the Straits Times to have lost a lot of income because she was not paid as she was pregnant." All Singaporeans know who Zoe Tay is --- the Queen of Caldecott.

"Apparently she was paid on performance. Now that she is pregnant, she cannot work as a movie star. So she might have complained to the press about loss of income. Her contract could be a service contract, not an employment contract.

"In the same Straits Times report, a person commented, 'Who would ever see a movie when a pregnant damsel in distress is rescued?'

No laughter from anybody. The mother had laughed at the joke I told her earlier.

I don't know whether you find this joke funny too? I knew that my audience was not the romantic types.



"Maybe they don't know what a 'damsel' is", the mother comforted me.

I tried to explain to the Internet generation, "A damsel is a young unmarried lady. A damsel in distress is never pregnant in romantic stories. When she has trouble from wicked people, a handsome man will come to save her.

No white knight in shining armour will rescue a pregnant damsel." I mean the damsel is no more single. Know what I mean? The 3 young adults were in a silent serious mode. I shall stop telling such inapproriate jokes at dinner time!

24. Dr Goh Keng Swee's impact on vets and a M.P.

Saturday 4 August 2007, 3-5 pm, Level 5, Possibility Room, National Library Singapore.

"Are you a historian?" the author, Ms Tan Siok Sun asked as I handed her "Goh Keng Swee - A Portrait" to sign after the end of her talk. There was a queue behind me and so I did not talk much or ask her any questions.

Do I look like a historian? "No," I said. "I am a vet."

She had a fun talk with old timers and fans sharing their anecdotes about Dr Goh Keng Swee, a person I had never seen before.

But his political decisions and trouble shooting had great impact on all Singaporeans including veterinarians. I was affected twice by his men, once as a government vet and the other as a private Club vet!

1. PIGS AND CHICKENS
"GKS even had a hand in the Primary Production Department (PPD)," Ms Tan mentioned in passing as she had spoken about the setting up of the Jurong Bird Park was GKS'idea.
"Something about pollution."

I worked in that era when the AVA (Agri-Vet Authority) was known as the PPD. Dr Goh had dismantled the intensive pig production farms in Singapore as the pigs pollute the reservoirs, amongst other reasons. I was a PPD vet doing extension work for pig and poultry farmers. Well, the poultry farms had not been eliminated. Some hope of earning a livelihood.

2. RACEHORSES
I left the PPD in 1982 to become a Singapore Turf Club vet under a 3-year-contract. It was a risky thing to do as I could be jobless after 3 years. Junior vets before me seemed not to be able to continue a life-time employment at the Turf Club.



6 years later, Dr Goh came in with his men of trouble-shooters to make the Turf Club profitable. The Singapore Totalisator Board had taken over in 1988.

"There will be bean counters," the Human Resource Manager told me. "All performance will be analysed and department heads will be accountable for performance." I knew that the car, housing and the rights to private practice provided for the Club vets would be taken away. I would become a salaried man. Take it or leave it. I left after my 7th year of contract expired. I decided to start my own veterinary surgery.

So my destiny was affected even though I had not seen or met GKS at all.

ATTENDING TALKS BY AUTHORS
Much can be learnt at such talks. At the end of this talk, an elderly gentleman told a small group about his experience working for GKS. When a lady asked for his name, he would not say. "Are you going to expose me for revealing matters about GKS under the Official Secrets Act?"

One anecodte was interesting as I was also in National Service in the SAF Provost Unit. He recounted:

"Usually at 12 noon, Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew's car would leave the Istana. The Military Police guard would stand at attention, lift up his rifle and salute. But on that day, it was GKS inside the car. The M.P. was confused and did not perform his duty. The car left. Somebody later told Dr Goh that the M.P. was put into the detention barracks."

I thought this was rather severe punishment. In the detention barracks at Tanglin and Kranji during my time as a SAF Provost Officer, I could see that the SUS (Soliders Under Suspicion) had a tough life.

The story-teller comforted us: "Dr Goh ordered the M.P. to be released immediately."

We could have talked more but somebody switched on and off the lights to drive us home. It was 5.30 p.m.

23. 2nd sibling want privacy or a 2nd grate? Coprophagia - insufficient food?

"He is not so intelligent as the brother," the young couple said as the they could not understand why the 2nd sibling would not use the grate (pee pan plus wire flooring above). "He usually goes to the floor outside the bathroom to pee and poop or near the grate but not on top of it."

The other brother had no problems just stepping onto the grate and eliminating on it. Both were purchased from a home breeder with several Shih Tzu puppies without experience of using the grate.

"The grate is best as the puppy paws don't get soiled by urine," the couple told me. "Newspapers are messy."



"It is not about high canine intelligence," I explained. "The 2nd sibling just does not want to dirty his paws by using the same toilet area as his brother. So he goes to a new location."

"We use vinegar and water to neutralise the urine smell in that location outside the bathroom but he still goes there," the lady in her late twenties was exasperated. "Do you advise that we buy another grate for the 2nd sibling?"

"I don't know whether it will work," I dared not advise any expenditure which might not be justified. "Most likely he is used to eliminating on the tiled floor when he was with the home breeder."

Two puppies are sometimes harder to toilet-train. But in this case, the owners want the paws to be clean. So another grate may be the answer.

To human beings, it seems that the 2nd sibling is stupid. Some may think he needs privacy in his toilet habits. The most likely explanation for his behaviour is that he wants a clean toilet area to eliminate. That is the inborn instinct of puppies.


FEEDING

"The homebreeder advised 2 teaspoonfuls of dry puppy food 2 times a day. We feed 4 times a day, according to puppy books we read," the owners said. "We notice that the puppies eat less of their stools on giving them more meals. Are they fat?"

I placed my fingers along the spinal area. There was a slight feeling of the spines from the backbone.

"Just trim, not obese," I said. "Puppy book authors written by Caucasians do recommend 4 times feeding for this age but there are a small number that recommend twice a day feeding. If you feed more, the puppy poops more often and this affects the toilet-training success rate. That is why two-times-a-day feeding is recommended by most pet shop puppy sellers in Singapore."

"In this case, feed two times with 4 teaspoonfuls twice per day," I said. "It is a matter of observation rather than teaspooonfuls. Puppies generally stop eating or wolfing down the food when a sufficient amount is given. Observe the spinal area for protruding spines. If there is none, the puppies are well fed."

Coprophagia (eating stools) is a frequent complaint. In this case, it could be insufficient food as the amounts recommended by the homebreeder would need to be increased weekly as the active Shih Tzu puppies grow up.

P.S. Grate training can be successful in many cases because the puppies have had been crated when younger. They pee and poop onto wire flooring. The Singapore-grate with pee pan below set up closely duplicates the wire grating feeling for the puppy. Putting newspaper with urine smell onto the pee pan attracts the puppy to climb up onto the grate to pee and poop.

Obviously, this method cannot be guaranteed unless the owner actively teaches the puppy to use the grate. There are many anecdotes of success from my over 500 cases of case study of toilet training studies in Singapore. This grate is seldom recommended by the pet shop puppy sellers. It has to be used inside a confined area or room.

22. Success story: A rubber mat toilet for the Shih Tzu?

"Your newspapers recommendation as a toilet area were ineffective," the big shouldered man of around 1.6 metres tall told me. "My Shih Tzu simply shreds them."

"Is she toilet-trained?" I asked as I discharged her to go home, after removal of her cherry eye. A big red gland of around 0.8 cm x 0.4 cm had bulged from her left eye, at the medial side.


"Cherry eye" in the left eye of the Shih Tzu


"I bought a rubber mat from the hardware shop," the owner said. "In 10 days, she was toilet-trained on the mat put on the kitchen floor. She used to pee and poop everywhere and liked my carpet."

"Did you spray the puppy's urine or other liquid onto the mat?" I was surprised that a rubber mat could attract this high-energy Shih Tzu to eliminate upon.

"No," the man said.

Is it that simple? Just buy a rubber floor mat. The type with suckers below and put it on the floor. The puppy just go there to eliminate when all the time she has been doing it in the living room and the bedrooms? This puppy was not crated as she whined a lot. So, she had free roaming of the whole HDB apartment.

I would not believe that the rubber mat was so effective.

Here are the secrets for success.

1. Watch for signs of elimination. Mainly "sniffing" in this case.

2. In this case, the owner spanked the puppy lightly on the backside when she eliminates on unapproved areas and said: "No pee" firmly. Then he brought her to the rubber mat and said: "Pee here."

3. After 10 days, the puppy just went to the floor mat.

"She would run away after spanking," the owner explained. "But she learnt fast."

"Is the puppy free to roam when unsupervised?" I asked.

"No, she is kept inside the crate at night. She tried not to get in but we just put her in and locked the door.

"Feeding is two times per day and she poops after eating. She pees many times, uncountable."

This seems to be a success story. The newspapers are still used inside the pee pan under the crate flooring.

"The newspapers is put under the floor mat," the owner said. "In this way, she cannot shred them and they protect the floor from being soiled as the floor mat is smaller in area than the newspapers."

To me, this puppy is toilet trained to pee on the newspapers indirectly. The scent of newspapers, confinement, supervision, watching for signs and in this case, negative reinforcement training (spanking the backside) are critical factors for early success in toilet-training.

21. Pekinese and owner hates the smelly puppy training aid

"His eye tear stains are part and parcel of the Pekinese," the couple said as I gave the Pekinese with the thick red coat her annual vaccination.

Dark brownish black hairs flowed down the side and below the lower eyelids, occupying the grove above its lower skin ridge on either eyes.

"It is best to clip them so that the skin under will not be moist and get infected later." However the owners cleaned up the tearing everyday with cotton swabs but with no effect.

"How long you take to paper-train her and what do you use?" I asked.

"She took about a month to paper-train. We sprayed the smelly puppy training liquid on the newspapers. The smell was supposed to attract her to pee onto the papers. She would not go near the papers. We could not stand the pungent smell too."

"How did you paper-train?" I asked.

"We just used her own urine by soaking the newspapers on her urine. There was no problem in paper-training after that."

In some cases, the smelly liquid was effective but not all puppies can stand its strong odour.

An electronic scarecrow?

August 2, 2007 7.48 am
To: Raymund Wee
c/o Lynda Goh

We spoke yesterday when I asked you about the business prospects of an electronic scarecrow in Malaysia.

It was very kind of you to volunteer information about the 26 Yishun swamp dogs and puppies relocated to NANAS successfully by Ms Lynda Goh. I was the vet who vaccinated them. I did not ask about them in NANAS anymore as too much queries of dogs not related to me can make me a nuisance to NANAS and you may then need to buy the electronic scarecrow to keep me away.

The dog with the amputated tail is called Bobby. It is believed that some looters hacked his tail while he was defending the vacated house. Ms Esther Seah got him treated by a veterinarian.

This information was very much needed by Ms Esther Seah who had adopted Bobby at the swamp land since he was 6 weeks old. On August 9, 2007, Bobby would be 2 years old. While Singapore celebrates its National Day on August 9, Bobby celebrates a new lease of life at NANAS.

If you had not approved of the relocation, Bobby would be dead by now, being given a lethal injection as his chances of being adopted in Singapore are practically nil.

So, on behalf of Esther and his family, I thank you for your decision and hope all will be well with your health. A picture of Bobby with Emily, Esther's daughter who loved him a lot, is attached.



Dr Sing Kong Yuen
Toa Payoh Vets
www.toapayohvets.com

Chapter 5 - Swamp Dogs - Swamp Dogs Saved From Lethal Injections.

Saving the Swamp Dogs From Lethal Injections
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, Toa Payoh Vets, toapayohvets.com

Chapter 1. Did the Animal Activist Fail in Her Mission?
Chapter 2. A Volunteer with Passion Is worth 40 Merely Interested.
Chapter 3. The Looters Attacked the Pack Leader.
Chapter 4. If Only We Can Turn Back the Clock for the Pack Leader...
Chapter 5. NANAS. Swamp Dogs Saved From Lethal Injections.


A text message

Hi Doc Sing,

Sorry I could not talk too long cause my side here is too noisy as I am at the old folk's home. I appreciate your news about Bobby. Now I am very happy :-).
From: Esther Seah, 2.43 pm 1 Aug 2007.



I had just phoned Esther to update her on Bobby who had survived a hacking of his tail and was now safely in the collection area of NANAS (Noah Ark's Natural Animal Sanctuary). She wanted to visit Bobby earlier but it was best to get proper appointments.

"Let Bobby settle down and make proper appointments," I advised. "Appointments are needed to visit dogs at NANAS as the people there have so many things to do. In any case, you are no longer the owner of Bobby..."

I could understand Esther's concerns. It was like giving up a child for adoption. Would the child be well looked after? How did the child fit in?

"Too much interference from the previous owner asking questions about the adopted dog would not be in the interest of Bobby and would affect the acceptance of other new cases by a charitable organisation," I said to Esther. "Concerns for the adopted dog may not be well accepted since the organisation is busy with so many things to do." She understood and waited for the right time to visit Bobby.

On that day, I had phoned Mr Raymund Wee, the founder of NANAS asking whether there is a business prospect of Malaysians being interested in a gadget to stop birds from eating the left over food at the hawker centre. He gave his views and then volunteered the information about the swamp dogs now at NANAS.

"There is a dog with a tail amputated and stitched," he said.

"Oh, that's Bobby," I knew this dog well, "Somebody hacked his tail off." Esther took him to the vet to get him treated.



"Did you do the surgery?" Raymund asked.

"No," I told him the name of the vet who did it. "How is he doing?"

"He is all right. Now he is at the collection area."

That was good news and I quickly let Esther know. Bobby was 6 weeks old when Esther had adopted him as his siblings disappeared one by one. In retrospect, the monitor lizards might have devoured them when they wandered around the fishing pond area.

However, Bobby was noisy for 3 days and Esther's neighbours complained about the noise nuisance. In Singapore, the authorities would come and evict Esther from her apartment as keeping an unapproved cross-bred that would grow above a certain approved weight was illegal.

So, Bobby was back at the fishing pond. For the past 2 years, Esther and her family saw Bobby as they went fishing in the Yishun Fish Pond and swamp lands in the north of Singapore.

In June 2007, the whole area was acquired by the military and all swamp dogs would have to be put to sleep by lethal injections or left to look after themselves if they remained in Singapore.

Fortunately Mr Wee accepted them in NANAS where they would live out their natural lives in freedom from August 2007. Lynda, the Animal Welfare Volunteer had accomplished her mission successfully.

P.S
Esther visited Bobby at NANAS on August 11, 2007 as scheduled by Lynda. Bobby was in good hands.