Animals in Malaysia: An Interview with M’sian Veterinarians
As an animal lover who shares his apartment with a clowder of cats, I wondered what it’s like to be an animal doctor — veterinarian — in Malaysia. I figured I would ask.
Enter Happy Tails
Speaking to Dr Lim (left) and Dr Samuel (right) at Happy Tails Veterinary Clinic & Surgery in Ara Damansara, both agree that Malaysians love their pets and do their best to take care of them. Their practice continues to grow in leaps and bounds, and they were happy to give a little time and insight into what it’s like being a vet in Malaysia.
Let’s start at the beginning: Why become a vet? And how do you get there?
To be a veterinarian, you should always be creative, never give up, and, most importantly, love and be passionate about animals. That is what will get you through some of the most challenging parts of veterinary school and being a vet.
Academically most Malaysian vets go through roughly the same path: Go through UPU (government selection system) and get accepted to study for a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine. Expect to do a few internships in different places, from zoos to poultry farms to slaughterhouses and other veterinary practices.
Internships will give you an idea of what kind of vet you want to be in the future. Most will become vets for small animals and pharmaceutical companies. Some will become vets for large animals like cattle, horses and goats. A few will become exotic animal vets, zoo vets and vets in the aquariums treating various types of animals like fishes, birds, tortoises and lions.
We deal primarily with cats and dogs here. Happy Tails is slightly different from other small animal practices as we also treat birds, rabbits, guinea pigs, tortoises, fishes, hedgehogs and hamsters.
So it’s kind of like being a medical student? Except for animals instead of people?
It is similar to studying to be a doctor, except that there is a lot more memorization: We have patients that come in different shapes and sizes, from horses all the way down to hamsters.
Each species has unique biology and anatomy, meaning different techniques, medications and dosages are required for each specie and animal.
How would you describe what you do?
I would describe it as a bridge between humans and animals in terms of health care. We have the chance to meet fascinating, cute, and adorable pets and animals. But we have to take care of the owners’ needs as well.
On the flip side, vets like to meet up and compare our “battle scars” given to us by our patients. Remember that it’s not necessarily the most prominent scars that will tell the best stories behind them!
What kind of animals do you see on a day-to-day basis?
Mostly cats and dogs because they are the world’s most popular pets. But there’s no limit to what we can see in a given day. We’ve treated cats, dogs, rabbits, hedgehogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, turtles, and even birds.
What would be the most exotic animals you’ve treated?
The African cichlid fish and soft-shell turtles come to mind. But easily, the most exotic and most memorable is the Alligator Snapping Turtle. Believe me, that bite’s power must be seen to be believed. I’m just glad it never got its “teeth” into me! Those would be scars to talk about!
What do you like about what you do?
The best part about this job is treating and seeing different kinds of animals daily. One of the best things about this career is that every day is unique. Each case will stand out for memorable reasons. It’s also nice that some of our patients welcome us like family members when they see us.
One of the best things is when we see our patients recover. We love seeing our patients go from having no appetite to eating healthy and balanced meals, from being weak and hurt to running around happily. That is one of the best parts of the job.
Vets also form a small, tight-knit fraternity, and whenever we get together, everyone knows everyone. It’s like being at your local Mamak — everybody knows your name.
What is the most common misconception about vets?
The most common misconception about vets is that we have the best job in the world as we play with all the cute pets and save all the animals like the heroes in a superhero movie like Marvel’s Avengers.
We do get to save many lives, but we still have to face the most demanding part of our job: When to euthanize an animal to alleviate its suffering. It’s not just the animal; we also have to help the owner deal with their emotions and grief.
Being a vet is not just being an animal doctor but also being part therapist and psychologist, as we have to help owners through their grief and accept the pain of losing a loved one, especially when they have to authorize euthanization.
So that is one part of the job you definitely hate?
Yes. The entire process is hard to handle. Euthanizing any animal, whether it’s a street rescue or a family pet that has reached the end of life, is always the worst. We must bring this up with owners and explain WHY we are even suggesting it. Most pet owners know what has to be done and will do what is best for their pets. But this does not make it any easier for all of us.
The other part of the job is how much things cost. Money forms the biggest obstacle to treatment and medication. I’ve seen people break down and cry when they find out how much saving their pet is going to cost. We do our best to keep the bills as low as possible, at the same time, provide the best treatment, and support that we can.
What is the average workday at the clinic like?
We usually arrive at about 9am and disinfect the clinic before cleaning, medicating and feeding any in-house patients. Then from about 09:30am, its consultations with patients and owners, replying to our official WhatsApp and FaceBook messages.
If we’re lucky, we will get a half-hour break at about 01:00pm before surgery. Depending on the procedure and how many patients there are, this can take anywhere from 30 minutes to several hours.
Typically, surgery is done by 03:00pm; then, it’s back to consultations until we close at about 05:30, so we can take care of the in-house patients before we close and start cleaning up for the day.
Our hours used to be much longer, but we’ve been doing pretty well, so we hired an assistant. She handles a lot of the back-of-house things for us, so we can focus on treating patients, which means we get an extended break and also tend to go home on time.
You’re hiring new talent! I take it that business is good. What do the dollars and cents look like?
The gross income is about RM33,000.00 per month, covering our costs: Rent and utilities are about 30%, and staff costs (including salaries) are about 20%. The rest goes to buying medications, pieces of equipment, vet prescription diets, and consumable supplies.
Right now, we have some expansion plans that include getting an X-Ray machine to supplement our ultrasound, and we’re also exploring the possibility of getting a patient monitoring machine to serve our furbabies better.
The future looks great for Happy Tails!
Advice to future/would-be veterinarians?
Always stay strong with your passion; this path to becoming a veterinarian will be challenging: Some people treat vets as “second-rate doctors.” Sometimes, we are misunderstood, and our patients’ families do not understand that we give our best to help and heal their furry family members.
Any words to the wider world?
We are veterinarians. We are still members of the medical profession. We love animals, study hard, and continue to study to help all animals. Animals cannot tell us their sickness, injuries or pains. Above all else, remember, my fellow veterinarians, you are not alone.
Thank you for your time.
