Interview with Dr. Marsig

Did you know that certain pregnant animals receive cesarean sections?

That veterinarians can insert a small camera to see what is happening inside an animal's body as they operate, just as surgeons operating on humans do?

We found out these nuggets of animal-related wisdom from Dr. Ernst Marsig, a veterinarian at the Animal Hospital of Unionville.

Originally from Germany, the Gormley resident has worked out of Markham since 1992. His office is lined with cages filled with cats boarding at the animal clinic. One sneezes; another meows.

"They make good pets, nice companions when we need quiet," he says.

The back wall of his office is filled with a colourful mural of wild animals, including a tiger and a monkey painted by a former night-time staffer/artist.

Before working as a vet, Dr. Marsig was an artificial insemination technician, making cows pregnant on farms. This work put him through school.

Dr. Marsig, 48, is married with five daughters. He was born in Germany where he worked as a veterinarian. He moved to Canada in 1989. Like many a medical professional, he wears a white coat and an air of competence.

He holds three tiny grey and white kittens at a time, trying to get them to mug for the camera. These are five-week-old regular alley cats. They are up for adoption, meowing and clawing at his hands.

The Unionville Animal Clinic sees smaller animals such as hamsters, rabbits and mice, but not larger farm animals.

Being a veterinarian has its high points, one of which is curing a sick animal few thought would live. The profession has its drawbacks, too, like dealing with people who love their pets but cannot pay a vet bill.

Q: What got you interested in being a veterinarian?

A: I was always looking for a profession that makes it possible for me to work mentally, intellectually and physically at the same time. I never wanted to have a job where I am only sitting at a desk and working with paper. Veterinary medicine is the ideal job because you can do absolutely everything from intellectual work to real hands-on work.

Q: What do you like about those animals?

A: Animals are always forgiving. They are always in an even-tempered mood. They are never unbalanced like people. For instance, when you come home, your dog is always going to greet you and wag his tail and is happy that he has your company. Even cats are very balanced. You know exactly what they mean when they are moving and making certain behaviours.  

Q: Do you have any animals at home?

A: Yes we do. We have a dog and a cat and we live on a farm so we do have a horse and some chickens and some cattle.

Q: What is the most difficult aspect of your job?

A: We don't have OHIP insurance. We have to bill for our services in order to run and operate as a business. Very often, it seems so difficult to bill for pets that don't have a high value. A hamster costs $5 or $10 at the pet store and it is very difficult to bill for a professional service. Or, even worse, is when some clients are just not able to pay their bills but you know you could help if you could do those things that are required. That is the toughest and unfortunately, we run into that quite often. There is insurance for pets but many clients want to buy insurance when there is a problem and then it is too late.

Q: What is the best aspect of being a vet?

Being able to prolong life significantly by curing a condition that would have shortened life dramatically. For instance, doing a cesarean section or removing a tumour. I have case examples where we had young animals with significant tumours and everybody felt that we cannot treat them anymore. A specialist decided this is going to be futile. We still tried and some of those animals lived for 10 more years. Not that this would always be the case. We are not only treating animals. The main joy for me personally in veterinary medicine comes from treating families, making families happy.

Q: You mentioned c-sections. C-sections are done on animals?

Oh, absolutely. When there are complications, especially small dog breeds often have trouble with natural birth so they have fairly frequent c-sections. Cats rarely do. It is wonderful. You take out a whole bunch of little puppies and mummy is happy.

Q: Have you advocated in any way to change the (fee) system?

A: No. I don't know whether it would be fair to ask the general public to pay for pets' health bills. Not everyone owns pets in Canada. The challenge we have is in human medicine, because OHIP is taking over all the medical bills, people are not aware of how expensive health care really is. Private health insurance is the best solution where people pay a monthly premium which is fairly reasonable and you are covered for all the unforeseeable health problems that happen with pets.

Q: How would you say veterinary medicine has changed in your 23 years in practice? Has it changed at all?

A: Dramatically. First of all, technology is available now that never was before. Laboratory testing - we can do so much more than we ever could before and veterinary medicine really follows human medicine. We now have access to MRIs in Toronto and laser surgery is not uncommon. Everything that can be done in human medicine will be able to be done in animal medicine. Ultrasounds are completely common practice now. They are a great diagnostic tool to visualize internal structures. Laparoscopic surgery is available. Instead of putting your entire hand through a large incision in the abdomen, you make a small hole, take some sophisticated pliers inside and a little video camera so you can see what you are doing down there. You watch the surgery on a monitor. The advantage is less invasion, less tissue trauma and it is quicker.

Q: What factors should people consider before getting a pet that they often don't?

A: Number one, the life expectancy of the pet. A hamster lives three years, causing usually very early grief for the poor kid because the hamster is getting old very quickly. A dog lives 15 years and is not a good pet for a six-year-old who has long moved on to something else and has no interest in being around the pet. The animal stays with the parents. A lot of parents buy the pet because it looks cute and the kid pesters the parents long enough which creates a lot of mismatches. Some people buy especially dog breeds based on their looks and do very little research about what the breed was used for originally. Some breeds were used for hunting and they have an extremely active behaviour. They want to be out a lot and be quite independent from the owner because that is what they needed to do when they were hunting dogs. They do not make great condo dwelling, city pets who go for 10-minute walks twice a day. Other breeds are extremely protective of their owners, like guard dogs. They may not make the best family pet. I urge parents never do an impulse buy.