Nano and his tumor part II

Today was my first day in the polyclinic with Dr. Prasanna Kumar. His teaching style is wonderful, he is open to suggestions, does thorough examinations, and genuinely cares about the future outlook of the animal. The first cases we saw were six police dogs. They were all labs and most of them looked pretty healthy with the exception of one. He had swelling on the side of his face which indicated a molar infection. He was treated for his teeth and all the police dogs were sent on their way. The next several cases I had seen done before but Dr. Prasanna Kumar approached them differently. For a casting, he made sure the the dog was anesthetized and set up with a good pain management system; usually we just held the dog down causing unnecessary stress to the animal. The next case was that of a kid (young goat) who was not urinating or eating. Upon examination it took several minutes to locate the penis and when it was found it turned out that the goat had stones. Stones only happen in a small part of the penis for goats, if you cut that part off stones will no longer develop. A small dog came in with a hot spot which is a bacterial infection that comes within a day it was given some antibiotics. I also saw a "horse" today (Dr. Prasanna said I cannot call something that small a horse), he was used for racing. The owner showed me a video of there last race this morning and the horse was pulling the owner on a small wooden cart (very cool). 

Where's the penis?

Hot spot

The racehorse 

Next on the agenda: surgery! If you have been reading you should recall the boxer, Nano with the huge tumor on his back, well today we got to remove it!! To get ready for surgery a pre-anesthetic was given and the area around the tumor was shaved. The surgery area was very small and was covered with newspaper. Dr. Prasanna told me that all surgeries at the polyclinic are risky due to the lack of equipment, lack of people, and lack of sterile areas. When the surgery started Dr. Prasanna made a long superficial incision on one side of the tumor and then took his hands and tore it apart. The sound is similar to pulling orange slices apart but much louder. He told me that at a fancier clinic or hospital the procedure would be done with more detail and finesse but again due to the lack of resources he had to do what was effective. During surgery there was not actually that much blood. Dr. Prasanna told me not ever to worry if the blood is coming from the tumor but be worried if it starts coming out of the body. The surgery lasted about half an hour and I was loving every bit of it! At one point Dr. Prasanna turned to me when it got really bloody and asked if I was okay and I responded with the biggest grin and shook my head yes. When the surgery was over it took some time to get Nano up and walking. I asked Dr. Prasanna if we were going to test if it was cancer or not and he said no. He believed that due to the sheer size of it that it was malignant but Nano was 11 years old and there is no point in stressing the owners out over treatment they probably couldn't afford. 

Nano and His Tumor for the last time!  

At the private clinic it was very slow. The only interesting case was a pug mix with jaundice. The lymph nodes were very swollen and the dog was dehydrated. Jaundice can come in three types and is highly individualized. This dog (JuJu) will be treated by getting fluids twice for three days until they find out the cause tomorrow. 

      

JuJu 

Weekend Getaway

This weekend was incredibly amazing (and a bit hectic)! We kicked off the trip by leaving Trichy and getting on a bus to Pondicherry at 12:45 am and arrived three hours later. Neither Conner nor I thought that our bus trip would be that short and were more prepared for a six hour drive rather than three. The hotel I booked would not let us check in until noon so a driver took us to a hotel he knew that was only 600 rupees per night (9 dollars) and it was less than 300 meters to the beach. After getting our keys and taking a much needed early morning nap we headed off to find breakfast. We ate breakfast right on the beach (it was a nice way to kick off the trip). After breakfast, Conner wanted to go back to the hotel and grab his backpack the only unfortunate part was we forgot where our hotel was and what was the name. We searched for over an hour before we called an auto (kind of like a taxi) to take us there. Unfortunately its hard to tell an auto where you want to go when you can't remember the name of it. He ended up dropping us off at the beach and by some miracle we back tracked our way to the hotel. After that minor setback we called another auto to drive us around to the list of sights I made earlier in the week. The first stop was the sacred heart of Jesus. This church was even more jaw-dropping than I could have thought. Outside the church there is an intricately painted mandala. As you walk up to the church the sheer size of it is enough to take your breath away. I had to crane my neck all the way back to see up to the top when I was at its steps. As I first walked in the first thing I noticed was the large Jesus statue at the middle of the church. On each side there was a smaller statue of the virgin Mary and another person of importance (reality check that I needed to reread the bible). As I continued to walk around the church I noticed how detail oriented the entire thing was. Each part of the church represented the life Jesus had, right down to the stain glass windows. Walking out of the church there was a grave stone (I wondered if it was supposed to be for Jesus) and there were several lessons on the walls with pictures of the pope like 'feed the hungry', 'clothe the naked', etc. After basking in the glory of this place for twenty minutes or so we were off!

The mandala outside of the Sacred Heart of Jesus 

The Sacred Heart of Jesus (me for scale)

Center of the church

First statue seen on the right when I took my first steps inside.  

pano of just one part of the church!



One of the many stain glass window pieces

 The next stop was Sri Manakula Vinayagar Temple. This was a shrine dedicated to Lord Ganesha and its very obvious when you walk in the door, there are paintings and statues of Ganesha all over and inside the structure. A man who said he was a fortune teller took us inside and had us blessed by several statues. After he charged us 100 rupees to read our palms (Guess what Mom, a new relationship is coming my way) we then walked across the street to a garden set up by The Mother. The Mother is Mirra Alfassa, she was a spiritual guide for her community and worked to open up to supramental truth consciousness. In the garden there were no pictures allowed (sorry folks). As I walked in there was a path to follow and on each side there were numerous types of plants (some cacti and a lot I've never seen before). At the end of the path there was a layout of flowers in this unique design as I looked around for some guidance as to what to do I saw people saying a silent prayer, touching the flowers, and then touching their forehead. I followed suit and the flowers were still damp and I could smell them even after I left the ashram. I don't understand the religion or the meaning of the ashram completely but I do know that it felt powerful to be a part of something people believed so heavily in. After the ashram our driver took us to the Pondicherry museum (again no pictures). There were a lot of interesting statues and stones focused on the Hindu religion. The funny thing is as I read the description for each piece, I would look for a date that it was collected and from what time period and it would be blank. I guess that's just shows the mystery of this place! 

painting on the ceiling of the Ganesh Temple

#blessedbyGanesh

Our next stop: Auroville. Auroville is a town founded by The Mother. I wasn't sure what I was getting into initially. I just saw that it was a must see place in Pondicherry. When our driver dropped us off we had to go into a room in the visitors center to watch an introductory video. The introductory video said that this place is for all people of the world to share. It is a place where harmony and peace are the central themes and where people can find themselves. After the video we got our free pass to go see Matrimadir (a golden orb which contains a glass orb and is a peak place for concentration). On our walk over there we learned that the Mother renamed a bunch of different flowers and gave them each special meanings. These flowers were painted on stones with their meaning and an inspirational quote. Before we got to the viewing point we reached the center of Auroville which is marked by the banyan tree. It was there when the Mother first started planning the construction, it stood alone in a barren land. Now the tree has taken several aerial roots (grew the branches down to make new trunks) and reaches out several feet. When we finally reached the Matrimadir we just sat down on a rock for a while just looking at it. No picture will ever do it justice and the landscaping that surrounds it is impeccably done. After basking in the glory that was Matrimadir we went back to the visitors center and had one of the best lunches I have eaten in India. I ordered the seafood plate and everything on it was fresh and delicious (it reminded me of home). We then headed back to the hotel, dropped our stuff off and went to the beach. We stayed at the beach for a couple of hours then headed back to the hotel to get ready for another exciting day Sunday.

This is the banyan tree it is so large the whole thing wouldn't fit into the entire picture 

Matrimadir from the viewing point. 

Best lunch ever!! 

Sunday aka Fathers Day (Shout out to Eric Phillips and Scott Chadwick) started out by trying to find somewhere different to eat breakfast. On our way we ran into a fellow American named Alpa. Alpa is 47, recently divorced, and quite the talker. She ended up coming to breakfast with us where she spent the whole time talking about her dreams, career plans, kids, etc. Conner and I couldn't get two words in the entire time but its okay because it was just nice to have someone other than ourselves who spoke English fluently. Alpa took us to the Gandhi statue on the beach and took our picture for us while in exchange I took several pictures of her doing yoga poses (she's a yogi and no dad not the bear). We then went to a yoga conference with her and then she pointed us in the direction of the Sunday Market. The Sunday Market is absolutely hectic its at least a mile or two of just small tents where people are selling everything from clothes, to shoes, to food. We ended up walking around the market for almost three hours before we stopped for lunch and planned our next move. We decided that we wanted to go to paradise beach next (another tourist hotspot I found online). Paradise beach is expensive. There is an entrance fee just to get into the gate, another fee just to get on a boat to get to Paradise beach, and then more fees if you want to do any kind of beach activities. We decided we wanted to go kayaking. After kayaking for thirty minutes it was time for Conner to go (it was a single kayak). I took my stuff and just laid out on the beach (chairs were being rented out). It should be noted that in India nobody wears any kind of swimsuit. Most of the little kids swim naked and I saw several women wading in the water in their zaris. Overall it was a wonderful day besides Conner losing a hammock he bought in Auroville in a sassy auto drivers car. Get this while we were buying our bus tickets the sassy driver that had Conner's hammock found us. He said he had it in his office and was searching for us for 3 hours in an attempt to return it. Conner had to pull out money to pay the guy to take us to his hammock and while he was at the ATM the guy brutally informed me that if Conner and I did not have any money to pay him it wasn't HIS problem it was MY problem; its funny to me how people's attitude will change when they don't think you're rich anymore. Not to worry though Conner pulled out money and the guy actually had his hammock. On our drive back to the bus station the guy started singing Bob Marley songs and asked us to sing along (this is the craziest part of the trip). Finally we got on a bus back to Trichy and arrived at 3:30 in the morning. What a memorable weekend. 

                                      

Shot of me and the Gandhi statue! You can't tell but there is a man passed out up at the top! 

Check out all the zaris! 



Puppy Fridays (The best kind of Fridays)

Today was crazy busy which was a nice change of pace. To start off the day Sabrina (one of the veterinary assistants) called me over to the medicine room. She then told me to turn around while she pinned some jasmine in my hair (how sweet!). I then went out to see a cow that was having some fever, lack of appetite, and no rumination (spitting cud back up to re-chew it). It was treated with an antipyretic and an antibiotic. The next case was a dog that was vomiting for the pass two days. Turns out the owner had been feeding it spicy Indian chicken and it was taking a toll on the stomach of the dog. It was treated for gastritis to reduce the gas in its stomach. After treatment, Sahana and I observed a Dalmatian that had blood spots all over its body. She told me that it was likely suffering a tick infection in which the platelet count was significantly decreased which led to a direct effect of the inability of the blood to clot. In order to be sure of diagnosis a blood smear was taken from the ear vein. Not one minute later I turned around and the dogs face was covered in blood due to the inability of the blood in the ear to clot. It takes one day to run the test so Monday I will ask Sahana what the results showed. Dr. Ganesh Kumar then had me observe an ultrasound of a cow. The main complaint was that the cow had been pregnant for over 12 months (an average cow pregnancy is 9 months). When the ultrasound was used there was blood still flowing to the fetus meaning it could possibly still be alive but due to the position of the fetus Dr. Ganesh Kumar could not get to the heart. After trying to get an effective X-ray of the position of the fetus and failing Dr. Kumar told them to come back next week. He told me that because the polyclinic is free of charge he cannot spend more than a short amount of time with each case. Either way I hope I they come back next week! I also got to see a beagle give birth today. Out of the five puppies only two were dead (not terrible odds!). During labor they gave her an injection of oxytocin to increase the uterine contractions and speed up the delivery.

The color on the ultrasound means blood flow to the uterus

This the is pregnant cow. 

 Beagle pups welcome to the world! 

This is a small procedure that was done today. The ear is swollen because of excessive clotting. Sahana opened it up and squeezed all the clots out which projectile spread over my arms and notebook (lol). 

 
An interesting new case was awaiting me (just kidding it was waiting for the real doctors) at the private clinic today. The dog that came in had thin legs, a large abdomen, a pig tail, and prominent blood vessels. This is due to a hormone disturbance caused by an inoperable brain tumor. Dr. Prasanna Kumar said that even though we cannot remove the tumor we can treat the symptoms. He gave some medicine for the pain the dog was having and some antibiotics for the poor skin condition. The next case was a lab mix. He just came in for a vaccination but I did learn how to tell if a dog is obese. The base of the tail is the indicator if you can lift it up barely and there is a fold on the back of the skin then it is an indicator that the dog is obese (Shout out to Rocky Dils). Another sad case that came in today was an older dog that had lumps all over his body and was having some cardiac problems. He most likely has cancer due to the fact that one of his testicles never descended which will cause cancer in dogs 100% of the time. Due to his condition surgery is not an option at this time. Dr. Prasanna Kumar told the owner that before the testicle can be removed the dog needs to get its heart condition under control. You could see the defeat in the owners eyes but he swore that he would keep trying. Moments like these make me realize the love and connection an owner can have with their animal. A 12 yr old female dog came in today that had another mammary tumor. The first tumor was removed two years ago with Morgan Fitch (App student who trecked this journey before I did) and now I get to see the second operation. Besides her tumor she was actually very healthy and had great skin. The rest of the patients today (minus an angry cat) were my favorite type of patients puppies!! Seeing healthy puppies unaffected by parvo or distemper is a very nice way to end the work week, now off to Pondicherry!!

 Here you can see the narrow legs and the blood vessel prominence in the dog with the inoperable brain tumor. 

This is the dog that only has one testicle. These are his lumps. 

This is the mammary tumor and the puss had to be squeezed out to keep it clean. Also there was a dead maggot in there!! 

Puppies!! 

 St. Bernards are one of the least popular breeds in Trichy. Only 15-20 reside in the town. 

This lil pug was not having it today!! 

Nano and his tumor

Today marks the first day of classes for second year students and to celebrate there was a communion service held at 6:30 am. I actually woke up early and dragged myself out of bed to enjoy the service which was actually in English! After we went to a wonderful breakfast and spoke to Dr. Relton about our trip to Pondicherry. Pondicherry is a tourist destination full of beaches and the French (pictures to come). After breakfast I headed off to the polyclinic. This first case we saw today was a pug named Jack. He was not urinating at all and had a distended abdomen. After an ultrasound there seemed to be stones in his bladder (which was very full). The next step was taking an x-ray. To know for sure if the structures are stones they will appear on the x-ray as opaque blotches. As we were walking to the x-ray room the doctors told me to observe Jack's arched back indicating that he has quite a bit of discomfort and wants to urinate but can't because of the obstruction. To relieve Jack, a catheter was inserted. This is the first time I watched this procedure so it was very interesting! First the penis was squeezed out of the prepuce and the catheter was lubed up. The catheter was then inserted and pushed all the way into the body and eventually reaching the bladder. Once the bladder is reached, urine will start to fill the tube and emptying out. After about fifteen minutes Jack was looking much better!! After the urine finished coming out of the tube, the bladder was flushed with some fluids to get the stones closer to the penis. After this Sahana (intern/super sweet doctor) explained to me the priniciples of ultrasound which was much appreciated. 

This is Jack before catheter insertion. 

The next several cases were parvo cases. One of the cases in particular is very close to my heart. They are two German Shepard puppies (Roger and Ronnie) and during my first day at the polyclinic I helped cast Ronnie's forelimb. Unfortunately both puppies were diagnosed with parvo late last week but have been coming for treatment everyday this week so their outlook is good. I gave some subcutaneous injections today and also took a dogs temperature (I'm moving up in the world!). Another fun case that came in today was an ox. The ox was not castrated which was my first clue that it wasn't used for pulling carts. The doctors told me that it was used for bull fighting. Bull fighting in India is different than in Spain. For one they do not kill the animal but instead they chase it around a field and several men try to restrain it. They keep the testicles on the ox to make sure it stays angry and therefore harder to catch. The last case I saw today at the polyclinic was a bulldog with a crazy large tumor on its back. We took blood and are waiting for the results to see if its fit for surgery and if its metastasized. If the tumor metastasized there is no point in doing surgery.

My first vaccine of the day went to this sweet guy!

Ronnie awaiting his turn for treatment. 

I held the little black pup and let it kiss my face. The doctors were scared it would bite me and infect me but I just could not resist! Plus I am vaccinated ! 

The Ox used for bull fighting you can see the anger in its eyes. 

This guys name is Nano and his buddy on his back is the tumor. 

During my break today I went and got coffee. The coffee here is amazing and I will do my best to get the recipe so we all can enjoy it! After coffee it was time to go to the clinic. As I walked in I saw the same golden retriever I saw yesterday and let it sniff my hand before I pet it again. Little did I know this guy is very temperamental and I was seconds away from getting bit. Very important lesson learned today, no matter how well you think you know a dog (history, breed, etc) they still need to be treated with caution. The first case in the private clinic was a Dachshund with elephant skin. Elephant is a yeast infection of the skin caused by fungus. It was prescribed some ointments (for the dry skin and discomfort) and anti-fungal medicine. The rest of the patients were more of the same vaccines, skin problems, ear cleanings. Today I learned the difference between a bacteria infection of the skin and a fungal infection. Both infections look different under a microscope and will have different shapes. A fungal infection sample is usually taken by a piece of tape and a bacteria infection can be taken by a skin scraping. My personal goal for tomorrow is to write down every diagnosis and treatment. I feel like I have some of the basics now I want to work on detail!!

This is a bacterial infection. 

       

The white delicate flower

Today was one of the slowest days at the polyclinic. Within an hour of me being there we had only seen four or five cases. It began to get a bit more exciting when a cow had come in for a pregnancy test. After Dr. Ganesh Kumar gloved up he reached in and felt the uterus; she was indeed pregnant. Dr. Ganesh Kumar then instructed me to feel around to see if I could locate the cervix (no dice). Abi said that it is harder to find the cervix when the cow is pregnant. The next cow that was seen was being treated for low milk production. Calcium was administered through the jugular vein slowly. The cow getting the treatment was very aggravated and would not cooperate. To get the cow to relax the owner began sticking their fingers into the cows mouth in an attempt to get the cow to start grinding its teeth. Animals like cattle can accept pain more readily when they grind their teeth. The next case I saw today was a chicken having white diarrhea. I soon learned that this disease is very contagious and fatal. The chicken was treated with antibiotics even though Dr. Abi said the chicken was in very poor condition. Perhaps the most interesting thing to happen today was getting x-rays of a cow that the owner had said was going lame in the fore limb. After observation of the cow walking around which looked normal, the slope test was next. The slope test is exactly what is sounds like, a cow walks up and down a slope and if something is wrong it should exhibit some discomfort. The cow again, seemed normal. The owner insisted on an X-ray to be sure and trying to get a cow maneuvered just right for an x-ray is very difficult but we made it work. Upon examination of the x-ray the assistants and doctors usually ask me to sit down. Today the assistant said, "jasmine sit down" and Dr. Abi started laughing because he had basically called me a white delicate flower (which is how everyone here views me). The x-ray was normal and the owner finally went on his way. The last case at the polyclinic was a puppy coming for vaccinations. I administered the vaccine subcutaneously (under the skin) using the neck skin because it is often the most flexible. During down time at the clinic the doctors told me all the places I need to go while I am here in India and fingers crossed I can make it work!

X-raying the cow took several minutes of planning. 

These are the 'surprise bags' today it held a puppy. 

Last case at the polyclinic today. 

As I walked into the private clinic today I saw a sight for sore eyes, a golden retriever. I had not seen one since I have been in India and it was really nice (one of my favorite dogs I've ever owned was a golden retriever). After the brief moment of nostalgia it was back to work! We had a kitten come in today and it was surprisingly cooperative. It wasn't until I realized it was cooperative because it had a bad case of feline panleukopenia. This disease is the equivalent of parvovirus for cats. It was treated the same way parvo is treated for dogs: antibiotics and lots of fluids. After the first round of fluids I could tell the cat had more energy because it started moving around quite a bit and even tried to bite one of the assistants. The other cases treated today were mostly derm related, a lot of dogs with dry skin or tick and fungal infections. One of the dogs before I left was being treated for glaucoma. The blood vessels in the eyes were highly agitated. I look forward to another day of cases tomorrow and fingers crossed there is a surgery!! 

Blood vessel agitation in the lab with glaucoma 

Cat being treated for feline panleukopenia. 

    

Squat and pee

When I arrived at the polyclinic today everyone commented on the salwar I wore. One of the doctors commented that I was becoming an Indian girl (finally). The first case we saw today was a goat. Upon first glance I could tell that something was not right. It was very weak, unable to even sit up and was frothing at the mouth. Upon further examination Abi told me that it looked like poisoning due to the dilation of the pupils and the convulsions. For treatment the goat was given an general anecdote because there is no way of knowing exactly what kind of poison it ingested. Next I observed a cow with mastitis. Mastitis is a gland infection that is very common in dairy cows. It is usually caused by the inflammation of the udder tissue but can be caused by a handful of other things as well. While cattle have this disease their milk cannot be consumed. For treatment antibiotics are administered for the infection and inflammation. After examination of this cow I watched some of the students from Madras veterinary college try their hand at insemination. Dr. Abi told me that in their college they hardly ever did inseminations in cattle. Most of the inseminations done were on dogs or goats. In the field it is not common to inseminate a dog or goat because sex often rears an 100% pregnancy success. In cattle artificial insemination is favored because of good genes. The sperm factories are collecting semen from healthy genetically favorable cows and buffalo meaning insemination is less of a gamble for the genes of the offspring. Tomorrow I will be attempting to learn how to palpate the cervix in a cow; I couldn't be more excited!! The rest of the day went by pretty slow in the clinic except when I had to go to the bathroom. Folks, I finally used a traditional Indian toilet and it was kind of interesting. I had to squat really low because the toilet is underground. The good news is my legs got a good stretch! When I returned from the bathroom experience of a lifetime there was an X-ray on screen of a pregnant doberman. We all took turns counting the spines of the babies and came up with at least five pups (Congratulations new Momma!). The last case I saw at the clinic was two police dogs that came in for vaccines. One was a lab and the other was a doberman and both were very well trained. I would have never guessed upon initial meeting that the lab was a police dog because it was so obese. The policemen said that they only use the doberman for intense crime situations and the lab for bomb sniffing because of the physical conditions of the dogs. 

In case you were wondering this is my name in Tamil. Well kind of I think they actually spelled "Jazz Phillips" 

This is the explosive search police dog. As you can see she is in no shape to be chasing down bad guys.

Hello toilet! 

After a much needed nap I headed over to the private clinic. The first case that came in was a German shephard with some skin issues. It had patches of dry skin all over its body. After a skin scraping it was determined to have mites and a fungal infection. The next several cases to come in were my personal favorite: puppies! Most all the puppies came in for vaccines. The doctor at the private clinic told me that the needles were better quality here than at the polyclinic and were made so the dogs feel as little pain as possible. he gave me three to take to the clinic with me tomorrow and note the difference. He said the main point of the procedures and nice equipment at the private clinic is to ensue the dogs aren't scared to come back. At the polyclinic a lot of dogs are terrified of the needles and procedures. I think because it is government funded the primary concern is not necessarily comfort but treatment and cost.  

One of the many cute faces at the private clinic today! 

  

Crazy amazing mondays

So it turns out that Monday mornings at the polyclinic are the most hectic of the week. As we pulled up to the polyclinic this morning the first thing we saw was a German Shepherd in the back of a truck. This was by far the biggest German shepherd I've ever seen. Dr. Abi estimated it weighed about 60 kg (132 lbs) and it needed to be x-rayed because it could not move it's back limbs. It took six people to carry him onto the table to be scanned. He was eleven years old and was suffering some spinal injury. When the physical examination was done it turns out that he still had feeling in one of the hind limbs but not the other which normally would not completely impair the ability to walk but because this dog was so large it could not support its own weight. There was not much that could be done at the clinic because treatment would've been more effective only directly after damage to the spinal cord and the dog had been in this condition for three days. I asked Dr. Abi if they would euthanize the dog because of the injury and she looked at me with surprise and said of course not, the owners would take care of the dog until it died naturally. It is not until later that I learned that it can be seen as a sin to let anything (humans, dogs, etc) to die if it can live even if it is in poor condition. Dr. Sam referred to this as everything's right to live.

It took a lot of manpower to get this guy in place.

The next case I saw was an X-ray of a puppy's fore limb. This is by far one of the worst breaks I have seen like this in the forelimb. Because the pup is so young the pins are not necessary for it to heal instead they will just cast it into place and check on it in a few weeks to determine if further treatment will need to be done. 

The break went through both the radius and ulna. 

Today was an interesting day for cow treatment. Someone had brought in a cow that had a baby two days ago and unfortunately her calf died but it put her at an even larger disadvantage because her udder had become extremely large. Without milking the udder can start to get infected. The people who brought the cow in did not even own her instead all the doctors tried to call the owner in order to start treatment. I also saw a buffalo today. Buffalos are less common than cows but are more valuable. The milk that they produce contains 7-8% fat whereas its 3-4% in regular cows making the buffalo milk more valuable for trade. The buffalo has much thicker skin than a cow and very little hair making the animal very sensitive to any kind of touch; it also does not have any sweat glands making the heat harder on its body and skin this means that care for the animal can be extensive. During artificial insemination (which is more stressful for the buffalo due to the sensitivity) several of us had to smack the sides of the buffalo to distract it from the arm and sperm being inserted into its cervix. The insemination took much longer and she ended up projectile pooping all over the doctors shoes. It took almost twice as long to get the procedure over compared to insemination in dairy cows. Due to the thick skin of the buffalo veins are harder to find and are easily lost due to the discomfort of the animal. 

The cow with the enormous utter. 

The smacking of the buffalo! 

Get this, I actually went to the private clinic today!! It is called pet forum and it is very nice. It is much smaller than the polyclinic but that is because it is usually just for dogs and cats. It had a boarding facility for dogs, an up to date x-ray facility, and a snazzy examination room. The level of care at the private clinic is definitely higher. They do not reuse any of the needles or IV tubes like we do at the polyclinic and there really weren't any extreme cases. The private clinic sees a maximum of 15 cases per day (the poly clinic sees at least 20 cases just in the morning of everyday). The owners are a lot more concerned at the private clinic as well. For instance one woman made several phone calls to gather every detail of her dogs fecal matter in the past few days. Most all the dogs we saw were up to date on their vaccines and were not skiddish at all. The dogs that came in got treated with the utmost care. Even if they just came in for vaccination they would get a thorough eye, ear, and skin examination and a lot of them received ear cleanings. I was only able to see four dogs while I was in there today but Dr. Prasanna Kumar told me that I could possibly observe a surgery tomorrow! Dr. Kumar is very passionate about what he does and performs all the complex surgeries at the polyclinic. I look forward to seeing new cases tomorrow!