‘The Hassle Of One Dog Equals That Of Five Cats’

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Eka Dewi Wulandari has a simple rule: Any friend of hers must also be friends with her pets — eight cats and a Chihuahua named Midi. Always an animal-lover, she graduated from IPB Veterinary Medical School in Bogor and has worked as a veterinarian at her Jakarta clinic, Pet+Vet, for the past two and a half years.

During that time, Eka has learned that being a veterinarian is just as tough as being a doctor, if not tougher. She’s currently pursuing a specialty in emergency care. She tells My Jakarta about the monkey that inspired her to become a vet, why pet clinics charge high fees and why loving animals requires 
some sacrifice.

You obviously love animals, but when did you decide to be a veterinarian?

When I was a kid, my family had close connections to animals, but I guess the turning point was when we got a macaque named Poni. My family bought Poni because we didn’t have the heart to see it chained. Later on, Poni got sick and had a wound in its torso. There was a belief back then that spider webs could cure wounds, so I applied one to Poni’s wound. But of course it didn’t work, and Poni later died. I guess that was when I decided to help animals instead of just enjoying their company.

Do you think it’s harder to be a vet than a doctor for humans?

Vets have to understand how to treat many species, compared to human doctors who only have to understand people. Vets also can’t communicate with their patients in order to understand their conditions, just like when doctors deal with children or mentally ill patients. Sometimes the pet is also brought to the clinic by a housemaid or a driver who doesn’t know anything about its condition. That’s why the vet fee is never less than the fee for a pediatrician or a doctor who handles mental illness. Usually it’s at least Rp 75,000 [$8].

What’s the most common disease that you see?

I mostly see dermatological diseases. But it’s not uncommon to get a patient with a more dangerous or even lethal disease, like one of the most misunderstood and feared diseases, toxoplasmosis.

What don’t people understand about toxoplasmosis?

It’s about its method of contagion. People know that when cats get the disease, they can spread it through their feces, not their fur. But when dogs get it, the disease’s agents are in their muscle tissue and aren’t spread through anything else. So unless you actually eat the dog’s meat, no human can get the disease from their dogs.

Do you have a treatment specialization?

I specialize in emergency care, such as cardiac problems, while my colleague focuses more on dermatology. We learn these specializations from international workshops, because Indonesia still doesn’t have any formal specialized veterinary medicine schools.

How many pets do you have?

I have eight feline friends at home and a Chihuahua named Midi who usually stays with me at the clinic.

So you’re more of a cat person?

Not really. For most of my cats, their previous owners gave them away because they were diseased or disabled. After some consideration, I decided to cure and adopt them myself. Anyway, having a cat is a lot easier than having a dog — they’re independent. For me, the hassle of having one dog is equal to the hassle of owning five cats. The crucial point, though, is that they [cats] have to be neutered so that they don’t get pregnant or impregnate other cats, which results in more stray kittens and a greater risk of toxoplasmosis along with that.

Do your eight cats and one dog ever fight?

[Smiles] The cats all recognize Midi. So whenever she’s home, she’s the boss of the house.

What if your future spouse isn’t an animal person?

[Laughs] Actually, that has kind of happened to me before. I slowly backed away from someone who was just like that.

Do you have any memorable anecdotes about the bond between pets and people?

There was this housemaid named Fatimah who found a stray cat and named him Salim. One day she took the sick Salim to my clinic and it turned out that Salim needed an operation. The operation cost Rp 400,000, but she said her salary was only Rp 300,000, so she promised to pay at the end of the month once she had enough money. I did the surgery and later she came back to pay. Salim wasn’t even her pet, but she was willing to go such a distance to help. It was very touching, so I dropped the operation fee and only charged her for the medicine. I still charged her a little because I wanted to send a message that you have to make sacrifices for your pets.

What types of dogs make bad pets in Jakarta?

Those with thick fur, like the Komondor, because dogs don’t have sweat glands so it can be hard for them to cool down. Another favorite is the Siberian Husky, which isn’t recommended, though luckily they can adapt to Jakarta as long as they’re not under direct sunlight and you keep them in an air-conditioned room. They’re bred in Bandung now, so adapting to Jakarta isn’t as hard. But like I’ve always said, don’t love your pets the wrong way. Buying a pup when you live in an apartment and then giving them away later when they grow big is selfish.

Eka Dewi Wulandari was talking to Antonny Saputra.

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