SURVIVAL SECRETS FOR PET SHOP OWNERS - Masking the clipping wound
SURVIVAL SECRETS FOR PET SHOP OWNERS - MASKING THE CLIPPER WOUND WITH PURPLE POWDER
"No,I would not be available," I said to Mr Formicelli's pet transport man who wanted me to treat a clipper wound at the "stomach area," caused by the dog groomer. "I am in Pasir Ris vaccinating the puppies and I would not be going back to the Surgery."
The sun cast a golden shadow on the puppies in this countryside area dedicated to the farming of fishes and dogs. I looked forward to visiting this place as I was cooped up in my small veterinary surgery in an industrial park surrounded by high rise apartments, greasy car mechanics and the undertakers.
I also dreaded the traffic jams if I had to go back to the Surgery. My left back car tyre had punctured as somebody had spilled screws on the fast lane of the expressway. There were around six other cars with punctured tyres parked along the shoulder of the expressway. I discovered the flat tyre when I reached the kennels.
Mrs Formcielli phoned. A polite woman in her sixties. Ran a tight ship or in this case, strictly supervised the pet shop personnel. She was not in when the groomer clipped the Corgi. The transport man had seen the wound but had sent the dog home at 3 p.m. The owner phoned to complain about the big "stomach" wound.
All right, she could send the dog to Pasir Ris for me to examine. A clipper wound. Probably a small nick either in the armpit or the groin, I thought. A stitch or two would do. Since Mrs Formicelli took the trouble to phone me, I said all right.
It was not a small wound. It was a 3-cm cut in the midline of the abdomen. As if, the Corgi had a spay surgery. A skin gap burnt black and blue by the liberal application of potassium permanganate powder. This magic powder is commonly used by Singapore groomers to stop wounds bleeding.
"Especially useful to stop nail bleeding," the transport man had told me as he fished out a small bottle from the glove compartment of his van. "Some dogs start to bleed at the nail after they reach home." I admired this hands-on experienced dog transport man. Lean and dark, a face trimmed off fat and double chins, he boasted a weight of less than 55 kg for a a man in his mid-fifties. He was able to carry heavy dogs up and down the van, putting younger men and me to shame.
So, how should I do now with this large contaminated abdominal wound? Damn it, there was no short cuts, I cursed. No field surgery was possible as I needed to decontaminated the large wound. I needed the cleanliness of an operating room and the anaesthetic. The potassium manganate had stained the fat inside the wound and the edges of the wound too. A lot of area needed to be trimmed off to get a clean wound and a high success rate of recovery.
I had to go back to the surgery. The car mechanic who came to fix the punctured tyre said that my spare tire was of an inappropriate size and he had to bring the punctured tyre back to the workshop in Defu. "No problem," Mrs Formicelli said. "I can sit inside the van. We can drive back to the surgery."
Mr Formicelli's Mercedes van could seat 3 people in front. I was not that bulky. The Corgi was operated on and sent back. It took 2 hours just to resolve its problem. If the groomer and the dog tranport man had informed Mrs Formicelli, the stitching would have taken a much shorter time. The owner would not have been distressed to see a big bluish-black hole because the dog would have been taken care off earlier.
The dog groomer would have got a big scolding from Mr Formicelli who told me that the groomer must have made a certain position of the clipper to get such a big wound. I am worried that this groomer would lose his job as this he had come to Singapore to earn a living to support his family. The senior groomer was on leave and therefore he had nobody to refer to. He could refer to Mrs Formicelli. Maybe, he was afraid. His half-inch clip of the Corgi was a work of art. Very even. Any dog lover would appreciate such professionalism. He was good at his job. He might want to be speedy and that would be why the Corgi was clipped.
I doubt Mr Formicelli would sack him as this could be one-time mistake.
I asked Mr Formicelli to organise a system of how to care for such big wounds. And never to use potassium permanganate for large wounds. In fact, he had the white antibiotic powder, but this powder would never stop the bleeding. The groomer probably panicked and applied the purple powder to stop the bleeding.
A bandaging would stop the bleeding, but the groomer might not be aware of this simple procedure. It was too much and too late in this case. The transport man sent me back to Pasir Ris and on the way, the dog was sent home. I could not forget the lady owner's anxious or maybe angry face as she carried the dog indoors. This is the other side which vets and groomers seldom see.
"It is not so easy to earn a living," Mrs Formicelli said to me. "We must be responsible for taking care of the owner's dog when it is clipped wrongly. No sending back immediately."
When employees make mistakes, the pet shop owner gets the blame. The solution is to make sure there is an open communication or permission for the groomer to refer the problem to the veterinarian without the fear of losing his job.
Dr Kong Sing
www.toapayohvets.com
"No,I would not be available," I said to Mr Formicelli's pet transport man who wanted me to treat a clipper wound at the "stomach area," caused by the dog groomer. "I am in Pasir Ris vaccinating the puppies and I would not be going back to the Surgery."
The sun cast a golden shadow on the puppies in this countryside area dedicated to the farming of fishes and dogs. I looked forward to visiting this place as I was cooped up in my small veterinary surgery in an industrial park surrounded by high rise apartments, greasy car mechanics and the undertakers.
I also dreaded the traffic jams if I had to go back to the Surgery. My left back car tyre had punctured as somebody had spilled screws on the fast lane of the expressway. There were around six other cars with punctured tyres parked along the shoulder of the expressway. I discovered the flat tyre when I reached the kennels.
Mrs Formcielli phoned. A polite woman in her sixties. Ran a tight ship or in this case, strictly supervised the pet shop personnel. She was not in when the groomer clipped the Corgi. The transport man had seen the wound but had sent the dog home at 3 p.m. The owner phoned to complain about the big "stomach" wound.
All right, she could send the dog to Pasir Ris for me to examine. A clipper wound. Probably a small nick either in the armpit or the groin, I thought. A stitch or two would do. Since Mrs Formicelli took the trouble to phone me, I said all right.
It was not a small wound. It was a 3-cm cut in the midline of the abdomen. As if, the Corgi had a spay surgery. A skin gap burnt black and blue by the liberal application of potassium permanganate powder. This magic powder is commonly used by Singapore groomers to stop wounds bleeding.
"Especially useful to stop nail bleeding," the transport man had told me as he fished out a small bottle from the glove compartment of his van. "Some dogs start to bleed at the nail after they reach home." I admired this hands-on experienced dog transport man. Lean and dark, a face trimmed off fat and double chins, he boasted a weight of less than 55 kg for a a man in his mid-fifties. He was able to carry heavy dogs up and down the van, putting younger men and me to shame.
So, how should I do now with this large contaminated abdominal wound? Damn it, there was no short cuts, I cursed. No field surgery was possible as I needed to decontaminated the large wound. I needed the cleanliness of an operating room and the anaesthetic. The potassium manganate had stained the fat inside the wound and the edges of the wound too. A lot of area needed to be trimmed off to get a clean wound and a high success rate of recovery.
I had to go back to the surgery. The car mechanic who came to fix the punctured tyre said that my spare tire was of an inappropriate size and he had to bring the punctured tyre back to the workshop in Defu. "No problem," Mrs Formicelli said. "I can sit inside the van. We can drive back to the surgery."
Mr Formicelli's Mercedes van could seat 3 people in front. I was not that bulky. The Corgi was operated on and sent back. It took 2 hours just to resolve its problem. If the groomer and the dog tranport man had informed Mrs Formicelli, the stitching would have taken a much shorter time. The owner would not have been distressed to see a big bluish-black hole because the dog would have been taken care off earlier.
The dog groomer would have got a big scolding from Mr Formicelli who told me that the groomer must have made a certain position of the clipper to get such a big wound. I am worried that this groomer would lose his job as this he had come to Singapore to earn a living to support his family. The senior groomer was on leave and therefore he had nobody to refer to. He could refer to Mrs Formicelli. Maybe, he was afraid. His half-inch clip of the Corgi was a work of art. Very even. Any dog lover would appreciate such professionalism. He was good at his job. He might want to be speedy and that would be why the Corgi was clipped.
I doubt Mr Formicelli would sack him as this could be one-time mistake.
I asked Mr Formicelli to organise a system of how to care for such big wounds. And never to use potassium permanganate for large wounds. In fact, he had the white antibiotic powder, but this powder would never stop the bleeding. The groomer probably panicked and applied the purple powder to stop the bleeding.
A bandaging would stop the bleeding, but the groomer might not be aware of this simple procedure. It was too much and too late in this case. The transport man sent me back to Pasir Ris and on the way, the dog was sent home. I could not forget the lady owner's anxious or maybe angry face as she carried the dog indoors. This is the other side which vets and groomers seldom see.
"It is not so easy to earn a living," Mrs Formicelli said to me. "We must be responsible for taking care of the owner's dog when it is clipped wrongly. No sending back immediately."
When employees make mistakes, the pet shop owner gets the blame. The solution is to make sure there is an open communication or permission for the groomer to refer the problem to the veterinarian without the fear of losing his job.
Dr Kong Sing
www.toapayohvets.com
posted by Sinpets.com | 5:48 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home