29. The boy of few words may lose his new puppy if mum carries the threat

"I have given puppies away before," the sun-tanned mother of 2 boys threatened the 12-year-old boy who was not paying attention to my advices on how to take care of his white Miniature Schnauzer. His 10-year-old brother had distracted him with some game card.

There was a lot of nursing required. The puppy was purchased from a pet shop yesterday and it had a "hacking cough" as well as pus in his nostrils. A present for the 12-year-old who had done well in his primary six school leaving examination. I was happy to see a good student. He might not qualify for the top school, having a grade of 255 and last year, the qualifying grade was above 260.

Still he had done well and now he had a present he wanted. A very quiet boy. A boy of few words.

"Quiet boys read a lot," I told the mum. She nodded.

"They are introverts," I said. "They converse with the authors instead of with real people.' Mum nodded.

"How do you get him to be more sociable?" she asked.

"I don't know," I replied. "I was like him. Maybe he had not much interaction with people and would be more sociable when he goes to the university." Mum did not agree that her son had no meeting with outside people. This was a closely knit family and they always had dinner together she said.

She wanted the boy to be responsible for the puppy. The boy had told her, "Mum, it is cruel to confine the puppy in a small area."

So, the puppy was in his bedroom at night. Coughing and disturbing the younger brother's sleep.

"The puppy had kennel cough," I said. "A viral and bacterial infection. There is no drug for viral infection. The puppy needed to be confined to enforce rest. If the puppy plays and not rest, the coughing will get worse."

Mum wanted the boy to be responsible, "It seems I will be the only one looking after this puppy."

I was happy for the boy with few words as now she did not say about giving away the puppy. It takes training and time to get this boy to care for his puppy. If he knew how. But he must listen and he was not paying attention to my veterinary advices.

So, would he do it? I doubt it. But I may be wrong. After all, he is a boy of few words.

"You have better nurse this puppy making sure he drinks and gets hand-fed the one handful of dry puppy food a meal twice a day as instructed by the Seller," I said to the working mum.

"Otherwise, you will have a dead pup in your hands in 7 days' time." She was a working mother who really had not much time to herself. The younger one was in the gifted education program after a common test. He was on the fast track to the top school and I was impressed. The gifted education program promotes elitism but a country needs such people too. Would this playful second brother be kicked out of this program if he does not pay attention to his studies? This was his mum's main concern.

I remember this case very well because I have two sons. They are no more pre-teens. Taller than me. Teenaged giants.

Bbut these two boys sure bring back memories of so much responsibilities to make sure they go to tuition, get good grades and not let their teachers call their mum to meet about their lacklustre academic performance.

They did not make it to the gifted education program or the top school. They are 17 and 19 years old, but they sure love their mums and go with her on holidays.

28. "The government wants all dogs neutered"

"Now the Government wants all dogs neutered or dog owners will get fined," Mrs Lim commented when she brought her Shetland Cross for the 6th booster vaccination. She had received a vaccination reminder card. This Shetland Cross had a luxurious coat, tricolour with black dominating. He looked very handsome and so much like a "miniature" Shetland rarely found in Singapore.

"No," I interpeted the December 2005 regulations to her. "The AVA (Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority) has introduced a new regulation. It has increased the dog licensing fees for intact male dogs to around $70 per year, on par with the female dogs. Previously, the fees were around $20.00 for male dogs, neutered or not."

Many owners are reluctant to neuter dogs nowadays. The AVA had its 2nd yearly education and exhibition at Ngee Ann City in downtown Orchard Road to promote neutering as a means to reduce the stray dog and cat population. Concomitant with this exhibition was the announcement of the new regulation.

So, would she neuter her male dog to save $50 per year in licensing fees?
Was her dog licensed? A penalty of $500 fine would be imposed if an owner is caught with an unlicensed dog. I did not ask her.

Mrs Lim said, "Please check the big lump on the groin, near the right thigh." It was a swelling of around 2 cm x 2 cm. I pressed the hard lump. The dog whined and turned to bite me.

"Do not worry," Mrs Lim said. "My dog does not bite."

What could this lump be? A tumour or an infection?

"Did your dog jump onto people's legs or mount objects like cushions?" I asked.

"Sometimes. He likes to jump down from the sofa set."

I told Mr Lim to let me know if the lump becomes smaller in size after a course of antibiotics 2 weeks later. It was hard to know whether it was a tumour or an infected blood clot. There were no signs of lameness or pain according to Mrs Lim.