Day 3: The City of Chennai, Day 4: First Full Day at the Vet School

Yesterday (Sunday), we took a tour of the city with some of the TANUVAS vet students: Arunah, Vinoth, and Sabitha. We started the morning at the St. Thomas basilica. St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, came to India in AD 52, died as a martyr in AD 72 and was buried in Chennai. The basilica is supposedly built over his tomb.

Many people believe that when the tsunami struck on December 26, 2004, the area behind the church was protected because of the presence of the Pole of St. Thomas. Legend has it that St. Thomas erected the pole as a mark to prevent the sea from encroaching the land, thus saving the lives of the people living near the shore.

I went to a mass in the basilica in Tamil (the language spoken in Tamilnadu). Jenny and Arunah came with me. It was really beautiful. I couldn’t understand what was said but I could follow what we were doing, and the music was enchanting. It was a cool experience. I’ve never been to mass in a basilica, and I’ve certainly never been to one in another language!

We spent the rest of the day going to a couple of Hindu temples (which we went into, an experience much like a carnival funhouse, with many levels and steep small staircases), the beach (where the water is unsafe because of intense rip tides), and a market with the entire population of India in it (It was MADNESS!! We had to really work at not getting separated).

The first Hindu temple

Taking off our shoes to enter the temple

A view from the top.

...not quite!!

All in all it was a good day. I think a few less stops in the day would have made it better. Janah and I headed back to the van a little earlier than the rest of the group at the last stop because we were just too tired.

At the beach!

Lunch. Huge!! (but all air)

The second temple

Headed home at the end of the day.

Today we spent our first full day in the hospital. In the morning from 8 to 11:30 Jenny, Cathryn, and I were in dermatology and Julia, Janah, Jessica were in Small Animal Medicine. We saw 4 cases of demodex, scabies (the owner was infected, too), a genetic disorder causing pyoderma (pus of the skin) in a German Shepherd, bacterial infections, bald spots, and itching galore. Janah said the first case she saw was a dog that came in with parvovirus and died within 5 minutes of arrival. That’s a heck of a way to start the day. They saw a lot of parvo cases, a case of leptospirosis that revealed a potential hemangiosarcoma (blood vessel tumor in the spleen), and many others.

Demodex pup. 

A demodex mite!

Basket o' puppies!

Cathryn drawing blood

After lunch we went into surgery on a case of ulnar avulsion fracture. The dog had gotten into a fight with a stray dog, and had broken his elbow off the rest of his bones in the process. We had to leave for necropsy before it was done (because it started an hour late), but I think the surgery was going to be successful.

The case. The lump at the top of his elbow should be on the back of his elbow. 

Headed into surgery!

In necropsy we saw a turkey from a farm where many were dying. He had both fowl cholera and Newcastle disease. Major double whammy. We also saw a hind limb from a horse that had spooked and smashed into some kind of wall or fence. The tibia was shattered into about 6 different pieces.

One thing we’ve all had to get used to is the Indian concept of time. If something is to start at 7:30, it means you shouldn’t show up before 8:00. No one is in a hurry here, except when driving! I haven’t seen anyone lose their temper, and everyone in general seems mellower than you would ever see in the US. I think it’s a mentality that would serve us all well! Another thing that is mind boggling is the cost of owning a pet (or the lack thereof). All vaccinations for large animals are free, and most other procedures are free or have a nominal fee. SERIOUSLY nominal fees. The surgery we watched today, a major orthopedic surgery, cost the owners the equivalent of $10. TEN DOLLARS!! That same surgery would cost at least $2,000 in the US!! Animal health care costs are supplemented by the government, meaning that even the poor (which is the majority of the people of India) can afford to have their pets receive good veterinary care.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!!