Mê Thú Cưng - Pet Magazine for Vietnam Số 3 | Issue Three | Page 57

Expats Pet Owner Guide for Vietnam 50 55

Mê Thú Cưng

Continued from Page 52 - D. MacKenzie ...

cockroaches or mice, that’s our fault!!
We need to change our house habits,
vis a vis, clean house, no garbage lying
around etc. The reason and the only
reason anyone should raise a pet is
because they want to raise a pet and
for the mutual companionship that
they desire in life. But companionship
is a 2 way street!! Easy for the pet to
be a life-long companion. I believe it’s
in their DNA. With adults, regardless
of country, have an average attention
span of a gnat, and find it difficult
and sometimes impossible to equal
the love, devotion companionship
and commitment of their pet. Good,
reliable, committed pet parents are
few and far between and adults should
accept that fact and move on without
being a pet parent.
Describe your overall experiences
and feelings of having pets in
Vietnam?
With our pets, regardless of the country
we have/we are/we will be lived/living
in at the time? Our experience is always
great because we protect our pets
the same way we protect ourselves
because that‘s what our pet expect of
us and that is our responsibility and
commitment to them.
As for the question, “Is Vietnam as
a country where pet parents should
feel comfortable in raising a pet”?
Absolutely not!! “Always be on guard”
- should be every pet parents motto in
Vietnam. There is no commitment by
the government, police or the general
public to protect pets, specifically
dogs and cats. Does this prevent us
from living in Vietnam? Of course not!!
There is no country that we have lived
in with our pets that we have not been
concerned about the safety of our
pets but we have always been able to
adapt our lifestyle to insure a happy
and secure place for all of us to live
in. Very few pet parents are willing to
do this, to put that extra effort in. They
would rather abandon their pet, leave
their pet with a stranger or give their
pet away to a stranger. This is what
pet parents forget!! The person may
not be a stranger to the pet parent but
most assuredly they are strangers to

the pet. We find that Vietnamese and
foreigners alike can “talk the talk” but
few of them can “walk the walk.”
What advice would you give to
Vietnamese people in becoming a
pet parent?
The same advice I would give to a
foreigner living in a foreign country or
to people living in Canada or any other
country in the world. Don’t be selfish!
If you are not a committed person or a
person who believes that commitment
is not a virtue, then don’t be a pet
parent! If you are lonely, have a baby or
adopt a child. Don’t be pet parents just
because the person next door became
a pet parent or you think it’s cool to
have a pet or you’re rebelling because
your parents wouldn’t allow you to
have a pet as a child.
Being a pet parent is a long term, lifelong commitment. My last bit of advice
is – DO NOT put your complete trust in
Pet Doctors in Vietnam!! Which means
that each Doctor for a period of time will
give you and your pet(s) good advice
and take care of your pet(s). But the
day will come when this will end. I treat
Doctors (including medical Doctors)
the same as I would my automobile
mechanic!! Whereby, if my mechanic
does a great job, I will continue. But, if
my mechanic makes one mistake, I will
never go back. With respect to our Pet
Doctor? Same thing!! If our Pet Doctor
makes one mistake, regardless of the
mistake being big or small, we will
never go back. Think about it this way,
if the mechanic makes a mistake and
someone dies in a car accident, simply
the mechanic did not care and did not
do their job!! Not good!! If a Pet Doctor
makes one mistake (big or small), your
pet could die. There is no room for error
and mistakes are not acceptable.
There is no Pet Doctor in Vietnam
that I would put 100% faith or trust
in. We are always diligent in terms of
making sure that everything is correct
and above board. If at any time we
feel uncomfortable with our current
Pet Doctor, we change immediately.
Remember, pets cannot speak for
themselves!! That is the Pet Parent’s
responsibility. To watch and observe

their pets. We will always spend extra
money to seek additional (2 minimum)
opinions in most situations. I don’t
care what their level of English is,
whether or not they were educated in
other countries - DO NOT trust them
completely!! 100% . Most Veterinarians
are in it for the money first and the
good health of your pet second. I have
been around business and in business
long enough to know a hack and an
opportunist when I see one!!
Now, I am not suggesting that a Pet
Parent not take their pets to a Pet
Doctor. That would ludicrous!! But, I
am saying be aware and be diligent!!
People will say in response that if
everyone has the same attitude as we
do, then there will be fewer Vets in
Vietnam. Is that a bad thing? No!! Let’s
get rid of the hack Vets!! Be part of the
solution not part of the problem!! Do
not excuse these Vets for their poor
performance.
What are the differences do you see
between yourself now with your
pets and your upbringing with pets?
Simple!! There are no differences. I
was brought up in a home that was
committed and supportive of each
other, pets included, and we all did our
best to follow the Golden Rule – “Do
unto others as you would have them do
unto you”. This included our pets and
other people’s pets!!
In Vietnam, we see for the most part
the reverse of the Golden Rule – “Do
unto others before they do unto you”. In
other words, most of, but not all locals
and foreigners in Vietnam are always
looking to work an angle instead of
working together and working towards
a common goal and the common good.
Honestly, it’s a sad place to raise pets.
And I have seen some pretty sad places
in my business travels (70 different
countries over the past 44 years). But
with us, we decided to always adjust
our lifestyle (house, entertainment,
travel) to accommodate our pets. The
result for us is our collective happiness
even in a place like Saigon, Vietnam
where, as far as pets are concerned is
a sad place.

Issue 03 | May + June 2014 | petmagazine.vn

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