Fake Vets In Town

Monday September 27, 2010 (From The Star Online)

Beware bogus vets

Stories by S.S. YOGA
yoga@thestar.com.my

WENDY Leow and her family were overjoyed when they were given a Shih Tzu puppy in February. They were advised to take Precious for his primary vaccination when he turned three months old. The friend who gave them the pup mentioned that Precious had a skin problem and that it could be a food-related allergy.
In early March, Precious was taken to a veterinary clinic in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, where he was diagnosed with scabies.

“We were horrified. Scabies is mange and is caused by microscopic mites that can spread to other dogs and even people,” says Leow, a public relations consultant.

Half-blind: Precious’ vision in one eye was almost gone after being treated by a bogus vet.

The pup was given an injection and a course of pills to consume. By the third day, Precious’ right eye had become inflamed, so they took him back to the same clinic. The same “vet” said Shih Tzus were prone to eye problems and advised them to trim the fur around the face and he prescribed eye-drops. He insisted it was the fur that caused the eye problem and asked them to continue with the scabies medication.

“Unfortunately the inflammation got worse, and our poor puppy was in pain, judging from his puffy red eye. A colleague recommended a good vet in Brickfields (KL).

This vet informed us that Precious’ eye had become ulcerated and there was a danger of losing the eye. Surgery had to be performed immediately,” says Leow.

Surgery was carried out the next day. The head vet and his team gave the family a clear idea of what was being done. For 40 days, Precious’ right eye had to be stitched shut to give it a chance to recover.

Although Precious recovered, his vision in the right eye is compromised due to scarring.

Leow and her family asked the new vet for a second opinion on the scabies diagnosis. Using a skin swab (a requirement when checking for mange and which was not done earlier), the vet found that Precious only had a simple yeast infection.

Suffering in silence: After the alleged botched-up spaying done by a ‘vet’ in Petaling Jaya, Elsie’s Pekingese was left unattended in the clinic.

All they had to do was to substitute his meat-based dog food with a fish-based diet. Leow also did her own research and found that a teaspoonful of yogurt with each meal could have helped to clear Precious’ skin problem within 10 days.

Who’s in charge?
StarTwo decided to check up on the earlier “vet”. The clinic in question had two vets with the same name. It was the younger “vet” who had treated Precious.

A check with other vets revealed that the “vet” in question was not a qualified one. He was just an assistant employed at the clinic. He was not on the list of registered vets under the Malaysian Veterinary Council (which is empowered to regulate the profession). His modus operandi involved giving out the name card of the older qualified vet who shared the same first name.

The owner of the clinic and chief vet had been told by other vets to stop the assistant from treating animals but this went unheeded, despite many complaints of malpractice against the latter.

Another pet owner, Elsie (name changed upon request), claims that the same clinic (its main one in KL) did a botched job of spaying her one-year-old Pekingnese in March last year. She claims the vet punctured the dog’s intestines and stray fur left in the wound resulted in infection.

After surgery, Elsie claims that her dog was left on its own in an unhygienic area in the locked clinic. Only when she called the “vet” did he let her in to see her dog.

Double stress: Going to the vet is no joyride for pets and their owners.

Elsie took her dog to another vet who found that the dog’s insides had turned septic. He gave her two options: operate on the dog to try and save it, or let nature take its course. Elsie opted for the former. Unfortunately, the dog could not be saved despite surgery.

The report issued by the second clinic confirmed that the dog’s intestines had been punctured and subsequently became infected. Elsie confronted the “vet” at the first clinic but was threatened for complaining.
“I’m so sad about losing my dog. I hope someone can do something and stop more animals from dying because of this horrible ‘vet’,” says Elsie who started a Facebook page in memory of her dog.
 
No action taken
Pet columnist and author Ellen Whyte speaks of her own experiences in dealing with a bogus vet. When Whyte was living in Malacca, she adopted a kitten from the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
She took the kitten to the “vet” for a check-up and was told the kitten had ringworms. The “vet” prescribed some ointment containing sulphur.

“I was surprised because she didn’t really examine the kitten. I was expecting a topical anti-fungal cream, a tablet like itraconazole and a special shampoo. These are standard treatments,” says Whyte.
So she took the kitten to another vet for a second opinion. The vet promptly prescribed the standard treatment.

When Whyte informed this second vet of what the female vet had prescribed, she was told that the practice was owned by a man.

It turned out she was the vet’s wife. When Whyte confronted her, she maintained that she was “just as good as a vet”. Her husband the vet was not perturbed by the complaint.

“I think defrauding the public and pretending to be a vet is a serious crime. I got the numbers for the vet authority in the state and reported them both. Nothing was done. When I left a year later, these two were carrying on in exactly the same way,” says Whyte.

More hijinks
In January 2008, a local TV station highlighted a pet shop owner who doubled up as a “vet” of sorts. The man had opened the pet shop with a big signboard advertising the premises as a veterinary clinic.
He openly acknowledged on TV that he had no veterinary qualifications. He said he could treat minor injuries because he had experience, having worked with a vet.

Veterinarian Dr Jon Satyamoorthy says he has come across a Filipino “vet” who did vaccinations at his premises in Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur. After his “practice” became known, he moved to a shop in the vicinity of Sri Hartamas, KL. Then there are the bogus vets who operate out of pet shops and offer vaccinations and other treatments.

A check with several bona fide vets revealed that such a practice was quite common.

Malaysian Small Animal Veterinary Association (MSAVA) president Dr Clement Anthony and past president Dr Paul Chelliah both acknowledge the problem. Dr Chelliah, who is based in Seremban, says he knows of four such bogus vets in his town.

“They not only vaccinate, they do spaying, surgery, castration, and so on. And they are cheap. Some of them are former DVS (Department of Veterinary Services) staff who are not qualified, just assistants previously. Some of them operate from their houses or go house to house. I have confronted some of them but they laughed and challenged me to do something,” reveals Dr Chelliah.

COMING ON THURSDAY: SNIFFING OUT THE FAKES


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