Taiwan Pet Owners Be informed!

Taiwan Dogs, Cats, and Pet Healthcare a True Story with a Happy Ending
According to the Taiwan Council of Agriculture (COA), the central government agency responsible for animal welfare, there were approximately 1.27 million pet dogs and 280,000 pet cats in Taiwan as of the end of 2009. Emphasis on pet healthcare in Taiwan is well noted as COA statistics also states, as of March 2010 there were 1,366 veterinary hospitals and clinics in Taiwan, more than double the number found a decade ago.i As a caring, loving, and concerned pet owner, where does one turn to find the correct information and right counsel for your pet healthcare problems? This is one such story of a journey through which lessons were learned and solutions were found for a 6 month old puppy diagnosed with Luxating Patella; a common genetic bone disorder in small dogs often leading to a dislocation of the knee joint or Patella (knee cap). Our story begins with receiving a gift of a beautiful 4 month old mid-sized brown haired poodle, which was immediately and affectionately named Brownie by our 9 yr. old boy. Within one month, however, we noticed the dog developed a hind leg limp that progressively got worse. Eventually, we sought the advice of a local Veterinarian here in Kaohsiung nearby where we live. If you find yourself with a pet here in Taiwan that you suspect has some type of genetic bone disorder or some actual joint or bone trauma that needs professional attention; maybe you need to look for a well known and experienced Orthopedic Veterinarian Surgeon? All Vets know of such bone and ligament disorders, which are quit common especially in small breeds of dogs like poodles. This general knowledge is very well known by all Vets but the specifics in determining the severity of the injury, what type of exercise, if any, is beneficial, when an X-ray is advised, when surgery is necessary, whether to treat both legs at the same time or not, which type of orthopedic procedures to follow, recovery time and post operative care, etc, are not so commonly know and can only be accurately given by a professional with years of proper training and experience in this specific field. In our case Vet No. 1 said; the condition was serious and may require surgery when he gets older. Vet No. 2 said; I need to strap him down and get an X-ray after which he said one leg was good but the bad leg needed surgery immediately asking if we wanted to do it right now or tomorrow? That freaked us out so we decided we needed to see a more well know, professional Vet in our city. So Vet No. 3, although a very kind, well known and experienced Vet, not being trained in orthopedic surgery, said that surgery was not advised for such young dogs and that we should push him to exercise using his hind legs as being the best therapy until his bones were fully developed. However, a week later

when reporting back to this Vet that the puppys condition seemed to be getting worst he advised us to visit an animal hospital that specializes in orthopedic surgery. He suggested an Animal Hospital in Taipei. Wow, we thought how many days would we have to take off and how much would something like that cost? Then we found out there was here in Kaohsiung a very professional Animal Hospital so we visited and were quite pleasantly surprised how beautiful it was and how professional the Vets and staff were. So it was here with Vet No. 4, an orthopedic surgeon, we finally began to truly understand the condition and what the proper course of action was needed and why, in such a case, both legs are advised for surgery at the same time. The only problem was that this type of VIP treatment comes with a VIP price and even with a discount he needed to charge nearly 30,000 NT.(@1,000 USD) According to western standards and what weve heard, even from Taipei, this cost is a very reasonable but, it was a bit too steep for our limited resources. So by a twist of fate, not knowing what to do we phoned the original owner/breeder of this dog explaining our serious dilemma. We explain our whole situation and the 30,000 NT needed for the operation and asked if they could share some of the financial burden. Thankfully, these are nice, concerned, and compassionate people, like so many sweet people are here in Taiwan, and they agreed to help. They explained to us that they worked in cooperation with a very good Vet that was also an Orthopedic Surgeon practicing in Chiayi City. At first we were both apprehensive thinking we have no idea about this doctor and how much easier it would be to have the surgery done near our home and not 1 hour drive away. But after hearing the good reviews about this doctor and visiting his website we decided to at least give it a try and visit. When visiting, we were immediately impressed by the nonstop visitation of dogs and what seemed like very satisfied pet owners. My wife asked a few people in the waiting room what has been their experience working with this doctor and each of the comments were like raves of complements and appreciations for all this Vet has done for their pets; so it was clear this guy had some very happy pet owner customers. Finally when it was our turn, the Vet with a quick examination was able to tell us much more about which surgical procedures were needed for each leg clearly, also in English, showing us graphics and bone replicas for illustration. But it was at this point we could not help but break out in tears cause it was then that we realized that many of the things we were told were incorrect and how unknowingly we pushed our dog to walk on a severely injured leg and perhaps causing more serious injury by delaying the proper surgical course of treatment needed in this case. If we would have known from the beginning what we finally found to be true in the end maybe the situation would not have been so serious and maybe our poor little puppy could have been spared so much extra pain and trauma. Tears. If we had to do it all over again, I believe for sure we would seek a professional Veterinarian with well known experience in Orthopedic Surgery. Were sure there are many good Vets in Taiwan, but the purpose of sharing our journey and lessons is to help others avoid similar mistakes. At the same time we would like to introduce you to this very special Vet and Orthopedic Surgeon we found in Chiayi. He comes highly recommended by

us and others and were sure you will find he is in this business because he has a passion and love for animals. You can also see this in his staff by their gentle care and handling of the animals in their hospital. Please find his personal contact information below. We truly hope our story will help make a difference in your choices of proper pet healthcare for your special friends. By the way, I almost forgot to mention the bottom line; the total cost for the surgery was less than half of the Kaohsiung Animal Hospital. Warm regards, Ricky, Heidi and Brownie Kaohsiung, Taiwan (2012) Kao-Yi Animal Hospital Chien Ming Lee (DVM.M.S.) TEL: +886-5-2351339 & +886-9-21003363 No. 499.501 Shei Man Road, Tainan City, Taiwan No. 716 Chun-Shin Road, Chiayi City, Taiwan Email: chase63833@yahoo.com.tw

http://taiwanreview.nat.gov.tw/fp.asp?xItem=97948&ctNode=205