Don't Catch a Tiger By the Tong

      
                                                                                                          

            I've never had a phone conversation begin with "The tiger lady" before, so please forgive me for being a little apprehensive. It was the Sunday afternoon of the Van Wert County Fair and the caller was my chief fair liaison, Nick. Apparently, one of the tigers had a small skin lesion behind his chin and his handler wanted to get some medication for him. I knew there were two tigers at the fair this year, but it never dawned on me that they might fall under my jurisdiction as a fair veterinarian.

            I must admit my knowledge of tigers is pretty meager, based mainly on Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom and what I remembered from Marlin Perkins. Almost immediately I went into excuse mode.  I cited vague pharmacy laws, claimed I didn't have the proper license to examine tigers, and even asked why her own veterinarian in Texas didn't just call in a prescription. When I realized I was getting nowhere with Nick, I knew to seek out a higher authority. "I'll call Dr. Bonnie Jones," I thought to myself. "She'll know what to say."

            "Let's go see the tigers!" however, was not what I expected to hear.

            The "tiger lady," whose real name was Lisa, was actually very nice and quite knowledgeable. The two white Bengal tigers were brother and sister. At two years of age, "Kadar," the male, weighed 375 pounds. He had a sore, possibly an abscess, in the triangular area between his mandibular rami. His "boo-boo" may have been the result of a little conflict with his sister.

            Lisa invited us into the inner sanctum near the cage. The female was sleeping, and Kadar looked like he wanted to. Lisa said tigers spend many hours each day napping, not unlike their domestic cousins. It was fascinating to be so close to them- their mannerisms and facial expressions were identical to every cat I have ever known. I guess that's because they are just cats, albeit really big ones. A notion then occurred to me. How securely would any of us sleep at night if our own housecats weighed 400  pounds?

            Lisa wanted to show us how she gave the tigers a pill, and retreated to her trailer for a box of raw chicken. She made a slit in a piece of chicken breast, inserted the antibiotic capsule, then using a pair of kitchen tongs, held the chicken through the cage wire.

            Kadar, although initially uninterested, suddenly in one motion leapt up with mouth wide open and snatched the chicken. He was scary fast, and eerily reminiscent of a scene from "Jaws," that is, if that movie had been about a tiger instead of a shark.

            Lisa next inquired if Bonnie wanted to have a go. Of course she said "Yes!" Lisa handed her the tongs loaded with a drumstick this time, and "WHOOSH!!!" Kadar did it again- like a lightning strike.

             I was definitely impressed by the demonstration, but when Lisa gave me the look and pointed the wet tongs my direction, I found myself shaking my head from side to side. "No...No thanks. I'm good."

            Now, I'm well aware of the importance of appearances, and I can understand from my decline of her offer how one could infer that I was afraid of being mauled to death. That couldn't be further from the truth. I wasn't afraid of the tiger. I was afraid of the tongs.

            I've had Salmonella before. It was not the best four days of my life. I lost ten pounds- the hard way. From a pathology standpoint, though, it was an interesting experience. I had never seen my intestinal lining before. Although my infection came from a sick calf, the mishandling of raw chicken is one of the leading causes of Salmonella infections in people.

            Since you now know that I'm a bit of a germophobe and a Salmonella survivor, I'll share these tips: Wash your hands before and after handling any raw meat, clean and disinfect cutting surfaces and any counter surfaces that may have been contacted by the raw meat, cook the meat thoroughly and at recommended temperatures, and for goodness sake, don't put the cooked meat back on the raw meat plate.

            And always remember...if Salmonella comes knocking at your door, don't answer it. On the other hand, if a tiger phones, you might want to pick up. The experience could be "grrREAT!"

 

By Dr. John H. Jones
Dr. John H. Jones is co-owner of Delphos Animal Hospital which he operates with his wife,
Dr. Bonnie Jones.