Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

In-patient service for pets launched

Special Correspondent

City Corporation initiative at the Pettah hospital

Thiruvananthapuram: Bittu, a four-year-old German Shepherd dog, is quite at ease with his new environment and the caring hands of the uniformed animal handlers at the City Corporation's veterinary hospital at Pettah.

For the past three days, the docile animal has been under treatment for jaundice at the newly opened inpatient wing of the hospital. His owner, Lolita, watches as the vet doctor carefully starts administering an IV fluid. Every day since Bittu was admitted to the hospital, Ms. Lolita, her husband and daughter have made it a point to visit their pet.

In another kennel, a white Pomeranian is recovering from an ugly wound on the neck. "He could hardly stand up when he was brought in. Every day, the owners come with food for the animal. They are visibly relieved to see that he is recovering fast," says L. Ravikumar, senior veterinary surgeon. In the next enclosure, a pup belonging to an Anglo-Indian family is recovering from a wound inflicted by hostile dogs.

"All the animals are responding well to treatment. The 17 animal handlers trained by the corporation have been of great assistance in managing the dogs," says Dr. Ravikumar.

The next time your pet dog is suffering from an ailment, you need not worry about tending to the animal at home. The City Corporation is ready to take up the job for you.

Started as a pilot project this week, the in-patient service at the vet hospital has met with success. "We already have six dogs under our care. The number is expected to go up once the project becomes popular among the public," says Dr. Ravikumar.

The animals are housed in the kennels that were set up for the Animal Birth Control (ABC) Programme for sterilisation of stray dogs. Dozens of strays captured from various parts of the city are brought to the hospital every week for sterilisation. Pups picked up from the street are kept in separate kennels, ready to be handed over to people willing to adopt them. As many as 19 pups have already been handed over to families after vaccination and cleaning.

The corporation's Health standing committee is organising a `Healthy Puppy Day' every month to provide free vaccination and health check- up. A health card carrying a photo of the animal is issued to the owner.

"The response was overwhelming. Over 300 people turned up with their pets for the first `Healthy Puppy Day' in December. We are planning to make it a monthly affair," says committee chairman G.R. Anil.

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