I can’t believe that I have not written a post for over two months. Well actually I did two posts during that period but regretfully was asked to retract them. I think that put me off writing for a little while.
I just put so much of my heart and soul into each post and the only reason I blog about my work is to spread education and awareness.
I basically work 12 hours a day and dedicate my free time to blogging about my veterinary journey. I would like to reiterate that my posts are purely written to serve one main purpose and that’s sharing knowledge. That being said, the true value in sharing my veterinary knowledge is that it can potentially save a pet’s life or improve its quality of life.
Moving onto the latest developments in my veterinary career, so much has happened in the past few months and here are a few major announcements:
- I was offered a job at a pretty awesome practice in Sydney which I had to decline after much considerable thought.
- We have finally moved into our purpose built clinic that was in the makings for the past 3 years. I am absolutely in love with the place! I am shocked with how much the new space has boosted my morale and drive. I still can’t believe we moved an entire clinic in a matter of two days. We were not fully unpacked during that time but fairly functional. I managed to escape the post-move tweaking period as I went overseas. Now that I am back, I am even in more awe of this spacious and very well equipped new clinic. If you are interested in checking out our new premises. Please go to our Facebook page and check it out for yourselves.
- I recently attended an amazing veterinary dental conference that also included a wealth of information on how to approach anesthesia in the high risk patients (geriatrics, diabetics, renal failure etc). I have already started applying some of the valuable tips I learnt. I am also very excited to disclose that I will be enrolling next year in the behavioural medicine program. I should complete that course within a year and then I will finally be ready to sit my membership in behavioural medicine. Wish me luck.
- In October, I spontaneously took on a locum job overseas in Qatar. I worked at a very busy small animal practice for two and half weeks. I was testing myself and putting myself out of my comfort zone to assess how adaptable I can be. It was a very life changing experience. I saw a range of new cases I have never had to deal with. I had to communicate with clientele with so many diverse backgrounds, some of whom barely spoke any English. The most valuable lesson I learnt about myself is how well I connect with people and their pets. I was so pleased to see new clients in a new country feeling very pleased with my service.
The biggest compliment I received was when a staff member said: ‘Rayya, you are the happiest veterinarian I have ever met’.
I mean I was pretty stressed out at first as I had to tackle a new computer software coupled with new clients and a myriad of new protocols. My head was spinning and I felt run off my feet but I was obviously still able to maintain an outwardly composed appearance. I loved meeting so many new staff members from the lovely nurses, receptionists, kennel hands, drivers and of course fellow veterinarians.
It was hard leaving some of my cases behind and not being able to follow up. I made sure all my clients had my email address if they wanted to contact me for any questions. I will briefly highlight my Qatari adventures below:
I was running around frantically and I saw this client with a baboon hanging off his neck. I thought I was hallucinating from exhaustion. I continued with my consultations and when I finished, I asked the staff:
Was I dreaming or did I see a man with a baboon?
They all giggled and explained I wasn’t dreaming and they had to refuse seeing the baboon as he was illegally obtained and an occupational and health safety issue.
I was getting booked local Arabic speaking clients. I haven’t been practicing using the Arabic language for over 10 years and so I was quite rusty. It was also rather challenging deciphering the different accents. Arabic language can vary immensely from country to country just like the Aussie accent differs to the Irish and American one. Fortunately, many of them were also happy to communicate in English with me.
I had just finished vaccinating a gorgeous Russian blue kitten and booked her in for desexing when her owner asked me:
‘Are you happy to do a house-call to examine my cheetah?’.
I was baffled and said: ‘I will have to get back to you on this one.’ I discovered I only could if the cheetah had legal documents confirming it is registered with the international wildlife organisation. The owner informed me that she was registered and I was meant to go to his premises to examine her but didn’t get a chance. Bummer—
The client that gave me the biggest grief with the management of his pet was an AUSSIE. His dog had eaten 10 kg of cake mix and was vomiting and quite ill and he brought it into the clinic after 5 days of being so unwell! Mind you, that was even after I had spoken to him over the phone insisting he bring his dog straight in!!!Pretty ironic isn’t it?!?
I was faced with a very interesting case. A four month old kitten presented to me for being off her food and vomiting. Her owners were flustered that she appeared pregnant as they thought she was too young to even get into season. They were mortified as they realized they were at fault as they had looked after after a big male entire cat only a few weeks back. We did full blood work and ultrasound. Her kittens were alive and healthy and her bloods were normal. We started her on iv fluids and kept her in hospital until she was eating. We sent her home and she came back after 2 days as she was still off her food and straining to defecate. Further workup (xrays & repeat ultrasound) showed she was constipated and her pelvis was too narrow for her to have these kittens.
We had to recommend termination of her pregnancy.
We proceeded with the surgery and I discovered she had a ruptured uterus and her kittens were still alive and freely floating in her abdomen. I removed her uterus and sadly had to euthanasia the immature kittens. Thankfully, Yasmin has made a full recovery! My veterinary colleagues and I had never seen a ruptured uterus in mid gestation in a cat.
Yasmin looking very grumpy prior to her surgery
Euthanasia can always be a very delicate subject in pets. However, it was even more sensitive in Qatar because of religious views. Even if the animal was suffering and in the process of dieing, some clients refused our intervention and preferred their pet die naturally.
I simply had to respect their wishes even though I didn’t support their views by any means.
In the very few free moments I had at this busy clinic, I absolutely enjoyed hanging out with two parrots that were boarding at the clinic. Say hi to SUNSHINE & OLI
Last but not least, I was very lucky to be granted permission to enter the Falcon Veterinary Hospital. I was given a tour by Dr. Amrita, one of the practicing veterinarians there. This is one of the most exquisite and best equipped veterinary hospitals I have ever seen or fathomed to exist!
It was only created to treat FALCONS and is so well set up.
Falcons are fully worked up: xrays, endoscopes, blood & faecal testing, beak & claw reshaping & trimming, feather replacement for hunting season, microbiology & virology laboratory & so forth. They even had a gene coding machine; something many human hospitals don’t even have!
Enjoy the photos of all the lovely patients I met in Qatar. So fellow bloggers, I’m back so get ready to read my regular and weekly blogs.
Dr Rayya's Online Veterinary Journal 
November 11, 2012 at 7:51 am
Awesome pictures – looks like you have a wonderful clinic!! The Red Man and I have missed hearing from you but certainly understand your schedule doesn’t leave much time for our nonsense!! Best Wishes, Sheila
November 12, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Glad you liked the pictures of our new premises. I promise to keep you entertained with my regular posts. And I am always very keen to keep up with your news too 🙂
November 11, 2012 at 8:56 am
Wow, what a fabulous experience for you. Actually I have a good friend who is a vet nurse at that clinic – Sarah (English) – she loves it!
November 12, 2012 at 9:18 pm
It was a terrific experience and Sarah is amazing. That place sure is busy 🙂
November 11, 2012 at 9:37 am
Wow, Rayya, looks like that overseas trip was a wonderful experience. Obviously the Falcon clinic is popular (to be able to afford such diverse and high quality equipment).
Looking forward to some more regular posts – I’ve missed them (& you).
November 12, 2012 at 9:20 pm
Hey Victoria. You are absolutely right, the Falcons sure are popular in Qatar and are very revered creatures. I have missed your news too and will definitely be getting up to speed with all your updates soon 🙂
November 11, 2012 at 10:41 am
I’ve missed your posts! Sounds like you’ve been living an exciting life. Did you see many sighthounds in Qatar? I wondered if people used falcons and dogs together.
November 12, 2012 at 9:22 pm
Hey Heather. I always make to sure to keep up to date with your news :-). Yes I saw heaps and heaps of Salukis & Saluki crosses in Qatar. I don’t think they use falcons and dogs together but I could be wrong.
November 12, 2012 at 9:57 pm
My dream is to see my favorite breed doing what they were bred to do in their native lands.
November 11, 2012 at 10:44 am
Wow — you did a lot in two and a half weeks! And you took some gorgeous pictures.
I had no idea that a cat could get pregnant at 4 months old. I always thought the standard advice was to spay/neuter at six months, and that shelters did it earlier just to make sure it actually got done.
I had to have a cat euthanized a few weeks ago (16 years old, with lung cancer). One of the most valuable things her vet did was help me decide when the time was right.
November 12, 2012 at 9:25 pm
Hey Laura,
Firstly I am so sorry about the loss of your geriatric cat. It is definitely important to get the emotional support needed by your vet to help you make that difficult decision.
Ya I treated a ton of cute patients in Qatar :-). Cats can get into season earlier than 6 months. We usually recommend desexing at 6 months to prevent stunted growth from early desexing. Generally, dogs don’t get into season before 6 months but cats definitely can.
November 11, 2012 at 2:07 pm
Dr. Rayya, you are the most amazing practicing veterinarian! How wonderful that you have the opportunity to challenge yourself, and then to come back and write about it.
November 12, 2012 at 9:29 pm
Thanks Bernadette. Your comment sure put a huge smile on my face. 🙂
November 11, 2012 at 2:35 pm
Great to see you back here Rayya, I missed you and your posts which are always so valuable and educational.
Sounds like you really enjoyed working at the Qatar Vet Clinic and you were up for all the challenges!
Looking forward to more of your interesting posts.
November 11, 2012 at 9:38 pm
I’ve missed your posts too. So glad you didn’t decide to go to Sydney, Rayya. Nearly choked on my cup of tea when I read that. Sounds like you had an amazing Qatari animal adventure. Keep up the good work.
November 12, 2012 at 9:36 pm
Hey Fiona. Lol, you are a wonderful. Don’t worry, I wouldn’t dare leave the clinic without giving you a major heads up :-). Qatar was definitely an eye opening experience.
November 12, 2012 at 9:30 pm
Thanks heaps Barb. Always terrific to hear from you and I make it a point to keep up with your amazing blog. Your posts always cheer me up. Glad to hear you have missed my posts. Promise to keep them coming more regularly now. 😉
November 12, 2012 at 2:25 am
Wonderful post. I’m so glad to see you’re back.
November 12, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Thanks alot 🙂
November 12, 2012 at 6:26 pm
Your work trip to Qatar sounds interesting. Nice to know that people there are also animal lovers. You had a bunch of good-looking patients!
November 12, 2012 at 9:52 pm
Animal lovers are everywhere and it is absolutely great to see :-). I did meet quite an amazing array of cute pets.
November 13, 2012 at 4:02 am
Hey It’s Jet here. Hi Dr. Rayya.
Wowee wow wow, so much going on. Congrats on your new facility… looks huge. Opening day looked like a blast.
Thanks for sharing about your experience in Qatar, gave us a sense of how other nations interact with their animals. 🙂
Welcome back, we missed ya!
November 13, 2012 at 7:53 am
Hey Jet. Glad you loved our new premises. It is great to be back and to know that you haven’t forgotten about me 🙂
November 13, 2012 at 8:33 am
ABSOLUTELY NOT Dr. Rayya… sending Jetty kisses and JJ hugs to make sure you know we care. 🙂
November 19, 2012 at 9:34 pm
Love your blog and love your work – Don’t let the haters and the ignorant get you down. Those who know you or have the privilige of you as their vet know you are an amazing person and a passionate and dedicated vet so keep on keeping on 🙂
November 19, 2012 at 11:09 pm
Oh Alison,
Thank you for your very kind words. The feeling is mutual. I think you are one amazing person and I feel very lucky to have you as my client. 🙂
November 23, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Facinating, loved reading your blog. Thanks for sharing this interesting blog
December 2, 2012 at 4:26 pm
Thank YOU for taking the time to read my blog 🙂
December 7, 2012 at 3:14 am
Even though not having any knowledge in healing animals ^ – ^ I still find this blog super awesome – for the love and enthusiasm that you have with your job as well as all of those lovable patients ^ – ^ keep doing your good work , Rayya!
December 9, 2012 at 6:30 pm
Thank you so much yinyin for your very lovely comment. I am so glad you enjoyed my blog 🙂