Advertisement
Published: October 29th 2007
Happy Harvey
lost his leg but tail never stops wagging!Well, after our general lazing about and drinking we had to start work proper. We had a toss and I got the first 2 days and Sat morning. First day on my own was Thursday 25th October, which happened to be surgery day. Tues and Thurs are when they do the neuterings and are the busiest days.
Arrived at 8.30am, to be greeted by the dogs and cats, they come running up to you as you walk across to the clinic, they are happy dogs and cats and give you a great big greeting.
I started off feeding all the critters, and then the surgery started. It is really amazing what they manage to do with so little stuff. There is just so little equipment, all the cages are falling apart, bedding is newspaper and some rags which are washed over and over and just falling apart. There is no sterile conditions for ops, you just wash instruments in betadine and hope for the best, i made up surgery packs, you have to put certain amount of instruments (13) pieces, on top of a drape (material with the hole in it for operating), then 2 swabs, fold it in
a certain way like a concertina so the vet can open it easily and the instruments dont just drop out, then it gets wrapped in tin foil to go in the oven - their only means of "steralising" - its not really sterile and not like an autoclave but its all they have. The packs are wrapped in rags which are falling apart - i had to use masking tape to patch them together to get a big enough piece of material to wrap it all in, even the foil is re-used and all scrunched up, this is how little money there is. I just kept shaking my head while doing it - it seems so unfair but nobody complains. There are 2 volunteer vets at the moment, Alex - English lady with dreadlocks! and Brendan - Irish bloke. They are really nice, and they performed the neuterings, one on the operating table, which is also the consultation table, and another on our little wooden table with just a plastic sheet over it which i wiped down in diluted bleach. Thats the extent of the sterile environment! then my job was to monitor the patients while they are in recovery.
Recovery was a patch of floor by the stairs where i laid down some rags and then the cats were laid down side by side straight after their op. At this stage they need to have temperature and heart rate monitored every 15 mins, and i had about 3 to 4 cats at one time, so it was constant, do one and move to another. I stuck thermometers up so many bums i cant count. when their temp was too low, i put a hot water bottle under them, but we only have 2 bottles so they have to be shared out in stages. Then when they start to come round i put them in their own cage and keep an eye on them from there. They get a rough old drug like ketamine and diazepam which causes them to schitz out, they hallucinate when they come round and they just go beserk. One was really poorly as she was already pregnant, full of worms and underweight, so they had to take the kittens out, she had a drip on and kept ripping it out so i had my hands full with her.
i didnt look after the dog
as i was too busy with the cats. it was really great and i loved it, really enjoyable and i felt responsible for them - its just the job i have always dreamed of but i wish i could make them nice comfy clean beds and a nice cage to sleep in.
i also got to help hold animals as they came in for examining, and the vets told me everything they were doing as they did it and let me have a go at some things, feeling for various things on the body, and looking at different cases. We had 2 RTA's (road traffic accs) come in, a cat and a dog. They were both badly injured, but there is no x ray and so its a case of examining and trying to ascertain what's broken and what the internal damage is. I really just dont know how they do it, they need so much stuff. Its hard for them to diagnose as well cus there is no lab and no blood tests. They have a microscope! The cat is now in recovery but the dog may not make it as his bladder if f***ed. We are keeping
him for 3 days but if there is no improvement he will have to be put to sleep. He has a broken back leg and will lose it if he survives, its just flopping around and the wound is open with bone sticking out. I thought i would faint at stuff like this but its fine, im too busy doing my job to help and just watch it all no problem. I have to hold them while they are treating them as they are in pain and will bite, so there are techniques to hold them.
We had a couple of other cats come in with bladder probs too. I learned loads in one day!!! its bloody great and i really enjoy it. it was so busy, i didnt even go for a wee all day! i love the cats and dogs and look after Harvey, the amputee and little Dave the pup, walking Harvey for poops and feeding them all and cleaning them, its the best job in the world. i dont EVER want to sit at a darn desk in an office again!
I finished around 5.45 after cleaning up and feeding, and walked home very
happy. we went out for dinner and had some beer at the Coco beach bar.
2nd day was not so manic as there was no surgery, so just the cases that turn up during the day, i wont go into all of them or i'll be here forever! safe to say, im happy as a pig in poo looking after poorly animals and seeing them get better and better. at last - job satisfaction and a feeling of doing something worthwhile.
So, first full moon party last night (Friday 26th). Finished work about 6 and back to the bungalow to get ready. we walked up to where Brendan and Alex (the vets) are staying and had a beer there, then we all got a songthaw, or thongsaw as i like to call them, into Haad Rin. It's the big full moon party every month, and so we were looking forward to that. We went for an indian first - one of the best ones ive ever had! it cost 140 baats! less than 2 quid for the meal! of course, add on drinks to that..............i had beer as usual.
then we went to get our buckets of
booze - i opted for the vodka concoction but left out the thai red bull as it does more than give you bloody wings! we cut the crap and just had a bucket each. the beach was full of people doing the fire tricks and dancing about with it and what not, Alex has 2 balls on the end of chains - they're LED lights and you swing em about - she was really good at it and joined in with them, a few people filmed her! she is a very cool chick with her dreads and likes to party. everyone is on something or other! i just stick to the vodka, but as i was dancing away to the trance music (was it me or did they just play the same song for 5 hours? sounds all the same to me!) anyway, i was dancing away for hours and sheena kept getting offered pills - i think they all thought i was already off me tits so nobody offered me! we met and talked to loads of people and it was a damn fine party! the sleep area cracked me up - you actually get an area where you
can lie down in the middle of this big party and go to sleep while they watch over you! hilarious. people were actually sleeping there, well - passed out anyway.
We partied on the beach til 6am, and were all slaughtered, i was meant to be on 9.30 shift this morning (Sat) but was 3 and a half hours late. The vet - Por was very understanding, i think its quite normal as they all like to party too!
So I dont have to work now, for the next few days.......back on Weds Thurs Fri again next week.
Meeting Alex and James (another person who helps at PAC) for dinner up the night market later. Got to dash now!
A few days later:
Poor Sheena - her first day and the white RTA dog had to be put down, she was very sad about it but just bad luck for her first day's work.
I had a really hot sunny day yesterday (Sunday) and managed to sunburn my bum cheeks, pic enclosed to torture those with a weak stomach. I worked hard (on my tan) and lay on the beach by the bar, swam, ipod'ed,
read, and generally loafed. Fantastic day. Then today - i got up around 10.45am, and went to supermarket to get some grub and bumped into James. James was manager at PAC for 2 years before Avril, he is also a Dive Master and works at the dive school although is still involved with the clinic and I've met him up there already. He is a big softy and has rescued 5 dogs! and 2 cats - 1 incontinent and so has to live outside! One of the dogs is also insane - he's white, called Whitey, ha ha, and she had distemper and it left her like she has parkinsons, she is all wobbly and shaky and falls over, she also has hallucinations and keeps snarling and barking at the air! its quite funny to watch! but he loves her all the same. He told me that he was off to fetch a baby pig today! i said i'd like to see it, so i arranged to go to his house later, which i did, it rained like a bastard today so i got well soaked in the rain, but im used to that now and just ignore it! he's
about a half hour walk up the road towards Haad Rin, and a nicer stretch than ours altho no beach, more jungley, i called him and he collected me on his bike and side car. the side car is for the dogs! he takes them all out in it and walks them on the beach! they are brilliant dogs, and one has the obligatory 3 legs! i went and met Tallulah the pig, she's very sweet, he rescued her from not great circumstances and now has a pig to add to his collection! his girlfriend is currently in England studying to be a vet nurse, their house is great and there are dogs and cats everywhere! Love it. Its in a fairly jungley setting so there is lots of space for the animals, they've been there 3 years so far. Then he took me and the dogs out (only 3 of em) - see pic, i then got on too and we all went off on the bike to look at houses for rental in the jungle, me and Sheena fancy a bit of jungle life after our first month on the beach. So we rode around and saw some
great places and then ended up at the PAC clinic in time to walk home with Sheena. It was a great day with James and i will pop over again to see the clan and get an english cup of tea!
Cheers to everyone who is reading the blogs- its great that you are all keeping up with my little adventure, i wish i had time to email everyone more but i spend a fortune in these internet cafes! thanks for your comments and emails, bless you and all who sail in you. Smelly lurve coming your way x
Advertisement
Tot: 0.111s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 9; qc: 48; dbt: 0.0556s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.2mb
