UPDATE IN 2006

My Internet Beagle story began in 2003 when I helped a breeder to sell his puppies as he was at the mercy of pet shop operators. They could demand the lowest price and replacement puppies if any had had died prior to sale. And puppies did die in pet shops due to parvoviral infections in 2003 and even now in 2009. 

I was vaccinating puppies for breeders and had almost 80% of the puppy vaccination market then due to some strange circumstances and therefore understood the dog breeding industry much better. These circumstances deprived the dog breeders of their source of direct purchase of vaccines and I was at the right place at the right time to do extension work and had to vaccinate the puppies at the dog farms and pet shops.

I don't believe in selling vaccines to breeders since I started practice many years ago. The money was good, the temptation was too great as business was highly competitive as in all service industries in Singapore and all over the world and I needed to fill my empty days at Toa Payoh Vets with patients. Under-pricing would be one proven solution to draw in the pet owners but I would be losing my shirt in the long term if I adopt this business strategy.   

Back to my story. Since this breeder did not sell the puppies himself but through pet shops, I advised that he put the pictures of his puppies on the web.

He disagreed with my internet marketing concept as being too airy-fairy and impractical.

So I put three pictures of his beagle puppies on the website of toapayohvets.com.  A telephone call, a puppy inspection and a genuine offer to buy the Internet Beagle, subject to certain terms and conditions was made....

Now, it is 2006. The Beagle came in for his annual vaccination. He is in an excellent bodily condition. Shiny white coat with black and brown spots. His shiny coat showed good feeding, grooming and maintenance.

But for the past few weeks, he keeps licking his right hock daily. Bite wounds seen. Self mutilation.

"What's the solution?" the daddy asked me.

"No fast cure," I said. "His left hock and elbow have big sores. Usually due to friction with the floor. Pressure sores. The dog starts licking to relieve the itch. The sores become bigger and infected. The dog licks more. Bites to relieve the itchiness. You can see the bite marks. His right elbow and hock were also injured but not badly."

The Beagle needed antibiotics and daily washing.

"How are his anal glands?" I asked the father. His daughter had gone to a good girls' school. Slim and bright eyed. The father must be happy.

"I could not squeeze out any anal discharge since you did it 6 months ago," the father said. He seemed to have lost weight and grown tired. Or I could be mistaken.

The Beagle was put on the consultation table. Nurse Anna was first to check the anal glands. Black thick oily paste squirted onto the tissue paper. I squeezed the glands and more paste swirled out from the right anal gland. The father was surprised.

Now, this Beagle did not show any signs of anal gland impaction. No tail biting. No dark skin licking blemishes in his anal area or flanks. Yet, his anal glands were badly impacted and the abundant black oil showed that the oil was blocked from coming out daily.

Could the left hock sore be his response to anal gland impaction? Hard to say.

"How about his ears?" I asked the father.

The Beagle wrinkled his muzzle and showed his canine teeth a few times as I tried to put a cotton bud to check the lower ear canal. No way.

"Get a muzzle," I told Nurse Ann. She put on the muzzle. The Beagle used his front paw to remove it.

"Tie the muzzle ends tight," I advised. The ear canals had dark brown wax. The owners just cleaned the ear flap and had not done any maintenance of the lower ear canals.

"I will do the ear cleaning," the father said.

"I will clean the sores," the Secondary School girl said.

I had not expected this sharing of dog care. The father was teaching his daughter responsible dog ownership by example. It was a surprise to me as I had never seen such teaching by example from a father to a child in my past 30 years of practice. He did not leave it to the domestic worker. Father and daughter bonded well.

UPDATE IN 2009.
Now it is 2009. Time flies.

During the annual vaccination and check up, I noticed that the Internet Beagle has put on some weight as he is now 6 years old. The professor had bought some pet shop medicine to prevent licking of the elbow sores. The daughter is willowy and good looking. She is 17 years old now and is pressured by academic studies. She is studying in a top junior college. I gave the Beagle dental scaling - the first one in 6 years. All his teeth were sound and strong except that tartar had enveloped the back teeth and the canine teeth. Some dogs of his age would have decayed and loose teeth.

"He bites the tooth-brush into two!" the professor had given up brushing his teeth for a long time. A dental scaling would be good for him as it might be difficult to brush his teeth. It is well documented that  bacteria from the mouth goes to the heart valves, causing endocarditis. In addition to gum and periodontal diseases, some dogs with bad oral health develop mouth cancers.

Many Singapore owners don't bother with the dog's mouth after the initial euphoria and attention during puppyhood. They don't even get the old dog an annual veterinary check up although many do send the dog to the groomer. The old dog started dropping loose teeth to the amusement of the owners. The dog starts to paw his or her cheek (in pain) and would not eat for several days. The groomer or veterinarian may be consulted. Some groomers provide dental scaling as they realise that there is a demand for such services.  

Looking good externally by regular grooming but neglecting annual veterinary examination is part of the culture of Singapore's dog owners in the early 1990s. In 2009, more are aware of the need to prevent bad breath by regular dental brushing and scaling.  

The gum diseases in the mouth starts to attack the dog's immune system and the dog feels pain in the mouth. It is good that this Internet Beagle had a dental scaling to enable him to keep his teeth for more years. I expect this Internet Beagle to live to a ripe old age for another 6 years with all his full set of teeth. Unfortunately, he is never keen on visiting the veterinary premises. He does not growl or bite at me. But if he is  given the chance as in photography, he will bolt out from Toa Payoh Vets. So we cannot be good friends and I could not get a good picture of him in 2009.