A true story - so glad I am not the only one being outsmarted by my smart phone.
A vet took blood samples from a dog belonging to an elderly couple. After the results came she phoned repeatedly to share the results with the owners. They never answered their phone. Then they came to the clinic - furious because they had not been called. The receptionist checked the records which indicated that the vet had attempted to call them multiple times. She said as much. Owner said, but that is impossible, I had the phone in my pocket all the time. Receptionist said: Is it there now?
Owner: Yes
Receptionist: Well let me try your number, maybe something is wrong with your phone. She phones from her mobile - nothing happens. She tries a second time. The message that comes up says that the number is not available. On closer inspection, they find that the phone is switched off. Oh, says, receptionist, that is why we could not get through. Upon which the owner says, but I always keep it switched off, otherwise the battery just goes flat. Receptionist says: But if it is switched off, no one can reach you.
Owner: What kind of a phone is that, I am taking it back to Telstra right now!
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Sunday, March 2, 2014
Veterinarians Behaving Badly: An Open Letter to the Next Generation of Vets
Veterinarians Behaving Badly: An Open Letter to the Next Generation of Vets: I woke up this morning trying to come up with all of the things I am thankful for this year. The usual things came to mind - the things I...
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Work Life Balance
Healthcare professionals - medical as well as veterinary - are by nature intelligent, inquisitive, caring and sensitive. They also have other characteristics which are necessary to succeed in their chosen fields and are competitive, obsessive, perfectionist and compulsive.
As such, they often find it hard to achieve optimal work-life balance. Areas to consider include the following:
Work environment: The chances are good that you are discontented if you stay late at work almost every day. If you feel that your work is taking up more time than you want, your expectations are not being met and you will not be happy. Remember that you may have had a hand in creating the situation. Learn to say no at times. Do not fall into the trap of killing yourself by doing good. You have to either change your work situation or your expectations!
One needs to resist over caring. Over caring may be driven by self-doubt. Do not lose sleep over a treatment decision. Rather get a good night’s sleep and arrive at work refreshed and re-evaluate your patient the next day. Over caring may lead to exhaustion and poor decision making.
Veterinarians have multiple roles to fulfill, such as that of a wife or husband and parent. People with families and multiple roles are often happier in their careers because thye do not have enough time to dwell on problems in their work situation. Vets with young children will more readily limit their obligations and say no to meaningless tasks.
Spirituality and Community: A sense of connection with community and a greater purpose can help to keep you motivated. You chose your career path to do good for others. However, do not try to be in charge of everything, rather just enjoy the sense of belonging without adding to your responsibility.
Remember that everything is not about you. A common fault of type A personalities is so-called central positioning - when you project your self-involvement onto another person. For instance, if someone in the express checkout lane at the supermarket has too many items, you may be upset that she does not appreciate that you are terribly busy and in a hurry. The truth is, the stress from such reactions can lead to your having a heart attack, while the person in front of you will be just fine.
Chronic lateness can result from extreme multitasking. For example, if you have 10 minutes before an appointment, do you take on another task, which ends up taking 20 minutes? It would be better for you to take advantage of the time to reflect. Not trying to cram every minute full of activity will be much better than the stress resulting from hurrying all the time!
Source: Lipsenthal.
Chasing dreams and racing father time - Born Free music by Kid Rock
E
Fast, on a rough road riding
E
High, through the mountains climbing
A E
twisting, turning further from my home.
E
Young, like a new moon rising
E
Fierce, through the rain and lightning
A E
Wandering out into this great unknown.
F#m
And I dont want know one to cry,
D
but tell em If I dont survive
Chorus
E
I was Born Free!
I was borrrrrrn free
A E
I was born free, Born Free.
E
Free, like a river raging
E
Strong, is the wind Im facing.
A E
Chasing dreams and racing father time.
E
Deep like the grandest canyon,
E
Wild like an untamed stallion.
A E
If you cant see my heart you must be blind.
F#m
You can knock me down and watch me bleed
D
But you cant keep no chains on me.
[Chorus]
? ?
And Im not good at long goodbyes but look down
?
Deep into my eyes.
E
I was born free!
E
Heyy yayaaa yaayayaaa
A E
Ohhh hoooo
E
Calm facing danger
E
Lost, like an unknown stranger
A E
Grateful for my time with no regrets.
E
Close to my destination
E
Tired, frail and aching
A E
Waitin patiently for the sun to set.
F#m ? ?
And when its done believe that I will yell it from that mountain highhh!
[chorus]
? ? ?
And I will vow to the shining seas and celebrate Gods Grace on me.
[Chorus]
South African Pet care market and some other statistics.
Mass Market Consumers Remain Elusive in South African Pet Care
Analyst Insight by Paula Flores, Head of Pet Care, Euromonitor International
South Africa may be by far the largest pet care market in the Middle East and Africa, but it remains undeveloped in comparison with many other emerging markets, particularly Latin American ones. While affluent consumers represent a lucrative niche segment for premium brands, the economy segment remains largely undeveloped, with less affluent owners still overwhelmingly feeding their pets table scraps/leftovers.
Is owning a dog un-African?
During December 2012, South African President Jacob Zuma courted controversy by arguing that South Africans should not have pet dogs. He maintained that spending money on buying a dog, taking it to the vet and walking it “belonged to white culture and was not the African way.”
Predictably, these comments were widely discussed on social media in South Africa. “Zuma comments cause canine chaos” one newspaper headline read. One user tweeted: “Zuma says owning dogs is un-African. Unlike those old African traditions of driving German cars, wearing Italian suits and drinking Irish whiskey.” Another wrote: “Zuma needs a history check, as the Africanis breed of dog has been the companion of Southern Africa’s San Bushmen since 800AD.”
A number of people tweeted an old photograph of former president Nelson Mandela with a canine companion. Commenting on the website www.iol.co.za, one dog lover said: “I'm black & I love my dog. He’s part of my family. We’ve always had dogs in my family. Can’t imagine life without them.”
In 2012, 20% of households owned a dog, a figure that has been fairly stable over recent years. 10% had a cat.
Most dogs are not fed prepared food, but this is gradually changing. The proportion of calories consumed by pet dogs accounted for by prepared products rose from 24% to 27% between 2007 and 2012. However, cats tend to be much more pampered (and are much more likely to be perceived as companion animals, or even ersatz family members) than dogs, many of which are still regarded in overwhelmingly functional terms (as guard dogs, for example) by their owners. The proportion of calories consumed by pet cats accounted for by prepared products rose from 65% to 67% between 2007 and 2012.
This has helped to drive steady growth in pet care sales over recent years: Having fallen sharply (by 4%) in 2008 due to a combination of rising prices and weak economic growth, constant value pet care sales stabilised in 2009 and have expanded by at least 3% per annum since then. By 2012, the market was worth US$668 million
Colgate-Palmolive and Mars are by far the most popular manufacturers of premium dog and cat food, accounting for 33% and 31% of value sales, respectively, in 2011.
Affluent consumers who purchase premium pet food are also the main buyers of pet products, with value sales outperforming the wider pet care market, recording a real CAGR increase of 3% between 2007 and 2012. Sales of pet products were worth US$44.2 million in 2012, having proved virtually recession proof during 2008 and 2009.
The South African pet care market is forecast to exhibit a real CAGR increase of 2% during the period 2012-2017 to US$744 million. This will mainly be driven by owners swapping table scraps/leftovers for economy and mid-priced prepared products and some affluent consumers trading up to super-premium brands, such as organic or all-natural products. The relatively small size of the country’s middle class will remain the main impediment to more rapid growth.
WSPA 2007 SA had 7 440 000 dogs and 2 000 000 cats
Australia 3 484 000 dogs and 2 450 000 cats
In a crude attempt to estimate global dog and cat figures, the average pet population as a percentage of the human
population was calculated. These figures varied greatly with the most obvious connecting factor being economic
status.
The World Bank Economic Status figures categorise each country into one of four categories:
1 = low economy
2 = low mid economy
3 = high mid economy
4 = high economy
Taking a random sample of countries from each economic status the following averages were obtained:
Crude pet pop as % human pop in EC 1/2/3 = 8%
Crude dog pop as % human pop in EC 1/2/3 = 4.8%
Crude pet pop as % of human pop in EC 4 = 25%
Crude dog pop as % of human pop in EC 4 = 15%
Total pets across globe using this estimation = 704 M
Total dogs across globe using this estimation = 432 M
Total cats across the globe using this estimation = 272 M
Population change over the last 5 years (based on information from 5
10% of SA dogs routinely vaccinated
Country No. of practicing SA/mixed vets Total pets Pets per vet
Australia 6000 5935000 990
Cook Islands 1 5000 5000
New Zealand 1750 1745000 1000
Papua New Guinea 5 6000000 1200000
Samoa 10 1100000 110000
Phaeohyphomycosis
Phaeohyphomycosis
Phaeohyphomycosis is a general term used to describe infections caused by dematiaceous (dark-pigmented) fungi. These fungi are widespread saprophytes and the disease occurs worldwide.
It is a rare disease of horses and several dematiaceous species have been implicated, including Alternaria alternaria, Pseudallescheria boydii, Bipolaris spicifera and Curvularia geniculata.
The fungi enter via a wound or at the site of trauma and produce a granulomatous nodule or mass involving the dermis at or near the site of entry. Location is variable and can be nasal, paranasal, chest, head and limbs. The nodules enlarge, ulcerate and have fistulous tracts. It may spread peripherally and, on occasion, to the lymphatics and other tissues and organs. The disease is chronic and if not treated it may persist and progress.
Diagnosis
Laboratory examination is necessary to distinguish this disease from others with somewhat similar features.
- Material from granulomatous lesions and biopsies or portions of lesions, fixed: The characteristic brown/dark-pigmented, branching, hyphal elements can be seen in wet mounts. The same fungal structures are seen in stained sections. Finding the fungal elements in tissue sections is confirmatory.
- Definitive diagnosis is based on the isolation and identification of the fungus, which may take as long as 6 weeks to grow. The precise identification of the fungus may have to be carried out in a reference laboratory.
Treatment
- Surgical excision of the lesion in some cases. Amphotericin B, locally and systemically. The imidazole drugs may be effective.
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