by Jerry Liao
I am a self-confessed Internet addict. Every time I turn on my computer, the first thing I do is to check my email, read some news, and do some business correspondence. But never have I thought that there would come a time when I would rely on the internet to provide me the knowledge that I needed.
Last January 5, 2008, My family and I visited the new Arc of Avilon Zoo located at Frontera Verde in Pasig. The highlight of the zoo is they allow people, especially kids to touch animals like donkeys, parrots, eagles, rabbits, and snakes. And when you allow your kids to touch these animals, you trust that the animals are harmless and are trained not to hurt visitors.
Unfortunately, my daughter was bitten by an Albino King Snake. The snake handler took the snake away from my daughter and jokingly said that my daughter’s finger must be delicious for the snake to bite. A joke I didn’t find funny at all. Clearly, the handler is not an expert for him to give such a remark.
My daughter’s finger was bleeding so I asked where the clinic was located. I saw a sign that read Hospital Quarantine; I quickly opened the door but found nothing inside except for some cages and two people talking. I asked if there’s a doctor but they said none. Then the king snake handler came over and directed us to follow him. I thought we would be brought to a clinic. To my dismay, we were brought to a dirty pantry full of flies. And the handler administered Betadine to my daughter’s finger. The medicine was stored in a soy sauce container.
I decided to take my daughter to the hospital. On our way, I called the management of Arc of Avilon. Owner Tina Gaw said she would ask her husband, a certain Jake Gaw to give me a call. He never did. He just sent me a text message. I asked Mr. Gaw why the Arc doesn’t have any clinic and how come we were taken to the pantry instead. This is what Mr. Gaw texted me “The Betadine just happen to be in the pantry area.”
When we reached the hospital, the first question was what kind of snake bit my daughter. I told them it was an Albino King Snake. They were not sure whether the snake was a venomous one or not. They said they had to consult an expert. Then I remembered I had my lap top computer with me so I searched for the characteristics of the Albino King Snake. Thank God that the king snake was really a non-venomous one. The doctors wanted to be sure so they gave my daughter an anti-tetanus shot and instructed me to give her antibiotics for 7 days.
One last question: I would like to ask the local officials of Pasig – how did the Arc of Avilon get its license to operate when they don’t have a clinic, a doctor and first-aid medicines?
What happened was a nightmare. Not only did my daughter get bitten by a snake, no help was given and she was even blamed by inconsiderate owners. I am just curious, if the management of Arc of Avilon treat their visitors like the way they treated us, I wonder how they treat the animals inside their zoo.