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a day in the life of

Dr Oh Soon HockAnimal acupuncturist

How do you stick a needle in a lion's rear-end? Ask Dr Oh who needles animals for a living. Straddling Western and Eastern medicine, he's one of Singapore's few practising animal acupuncturists, a vet with the Singapore Zoo and a trained Chinese sinseh. LEONG WAI KIT hears some wild stories.

Near the eyes. (Ouch). Sometimes, near the anus. (Double ouch). These are some of the areas where Dr Oh Soon

Hock pokes his needles, depending on the animal's medical condition. And he's not just an acupuncturist for pets. He's treated elephants, kangaroos, komodo dragons, cheetahs and lions too.

“Acupuncture (on animals) can be used to treat various ailments, including kidney and liver problems, joint aches, and vomiting; and is usually administered when mainstream medicine doesn't work,” says Dr Oh. “It's not painful, and it's effective,” he adds.

East meets WestWell, you can trust this doctor. Dr Oh

is both a vet and a Chinese physician. He graduated from National Taiwan University's veterinary school in 1986 and later on, completed a four-year TCM course at the Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution, in 1994.

In 1990, Dr Oh joined the zoo where he put his veterinary and TCM skills to good use. He administered acupuncture

on elephants (using specially ordered 25 cm needles), and used TCM to relieve Ah Meng's constipation and the sea-lions' eye irritation. And when the late crocodile hunter Steve Irwin hobbled into the Singapore Zoo in March 2006 to fi lm a documentary, Dr Oh treated him for a torn ligament.

“He asked if I could use acupuncture on his leg, and I said yes. After 20 minutes, he walked out of my clinic, no longer limping. He was so happy he went around telling everyone about the treatment,” recalls Dr Oh.

Although the principles of acupuncture on humans and animals are generally similar, Dr Oh says it's more diffi cult administering on the latter. “There are still slight differences in terms of pressure point locations. Plus, you'll need to understand the animals' behaviour well, because you can't communicate with them.”

Curious to see Dr Oh in action, I popped by the Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital, where he spends his Wednesdays and Saturdays treating animals using acupuncture.

Oh so multitalented: Dr Oh Soon Hock with chow chow patient Sinba. Dr Oh uses his veterinary medicine training and TCM skills to treat animals.

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a day in the life of

Doctor Oh's timetable

Bulk of time spent: Singapore Zoo

Monday evenings: Toa Payoh free Buddhist Clinic (TCM)

Wednesdays & Saturdays: Animal acupuncture at Mount Pleasant Animal Hospital.

Ad hoc: House calls and pharmacology lecturing at Singapore Chung Hwa Medical Institution.

Free time: Reads up on latest TCM and animal science developments to be in the know.

A slice of his Saturday“I'm up by 5.30 am and will start my day at Mount Pleasant by 9 am. I work right through because there's no need for a break,” he says. On average, Dr Oh sees about 18 acupuncture cases on Saturdays (and about 10 on Wednesdays).

Patient: Sinba, 12, chow chow.

Problem:Back pain due to old age. Sinba has been Dr Oh's regular patient for the past two years.

Treatment:Dr Oh started by massaging Sinba's head with his fi nger tips. Then with lightning speed, he inserted a needle at the point where his fi nger was. And then another. These points have a calming effect, explained Dr Oh. The acupuncturist then worked on Sinba's back and tailbone, when suddenly the chow chow started struggling. “Hmmm, this has never happened before,” Dr Oh said amusingly, pointing at Sinba's unexpected poo-poo. “Maybe he's not used to media attention,” he joked.

After a quick clean-up, Dr Oh used an electronic acupuncture instrument on Sinba. He attached wires to the needles, and applied small surges of electricity (75 hertz) to stimulate Sinba's pressure points for about 15 minutes.

Patient:Ginger, 4, miniature bull terrier

Problem:Kidney and bladder problems.

Treatment:This is Ginger's follow-up appointment. Dr Oh started by examining Ginger's eyes. He then stuck needles into various parts of Ginger's body, to boost her appetite. (Ginger had been throwing up of late). Halfway through the treatment, Ginger turned back and almost bit Dr Oh's hand. “That's a normal reaction. It happens when the dog is suddenly shocked or isn't used to acupuncture,” he explained calmly.

After the needles were in place, Dr Oh placed a heating lamp over Ginger. No electricity treatment for her because she was feeling nauseous. (Two weeks after her treatment, her owners say Ginger is looking much better. Dr Oh also confi rms that Ginger is now more active, and is no longer nauseous after her kidney operation.)

Patient: Junior Benji, 7, silky terrier

Problem:Hip dysplasia. (No more skin problem after treatment by Dr Oh.)Junior's owner, Mrs Theresa Lim said: “I sent Junior Benji to three vets for his skin problem, but nothing seemed to work. His bills came up to about $2000. It was only after Dr Oh's acupuncture and herbal medicine that he recovered.”

Treatment:Having healed Junior's irritated skin, Dr Oh's focus was now on Junior Benji's hip

dysplasia. He stuck needles along Junior Benji's back and used a heating lamp to stimulate the pressure points.

As his day came to a close at 6pm, Dr Oh strolled to the car park with a smile of relief. “Happy that yet another day's over?” I shouted across. “Not yet,” he replied, still wearing that smile. “I'm on my way to attend a house call.” A vet's day is never done.

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