During my recent visit to the State owned veterinary clinic situated at Sonsoddo, on the Margao-Curtorim Road, which specialises in pet health care, and was much surprised to know that the place is in a very sorry state of affairs.
People have to wait standing in a queue for hours before their respective turn awaits to see a veterinary doctor. Besides, the unavailability of medicines, including the major vaccines which are meant to prolong the life span of different pets, has become a matter of concern for the pet owners, whom are now being told to procure the much needed booster shots from a private veterinary pharmacy located right across the street after handing over a prescription.
Doses of vaccines are usually provided free of charge at government owned veterinary hospitals. Those who cannot afford to buy the costly elixir of life for their beloved pets have to suffer patiently. There is also an urgent need to open a Pathology Lab in this veterinary care facility so that pet keepers can avoid going to the private labs that charges exorbitant rates for their services.
The surgery section needs to be expanded with more additional doctors to cope with the demand and clear the waiting period of atleast two weeks for an appointment. Very lately, the department has hiked the charges of its surgical procedures to almost double of the previous amount which is out of reach for the common man. The government has to rethink and subsidise the operations cost in this regard.
Apart from a couple of friendly and helpful doctors on duty, the remaining staff do not bother to give a hand when the pets are being attended to, standards of hygiene is also not properly maintained in the premises. The concerned authorities, including the local MLA should take immediate action and see that the government-run facility functions as a full-fledged veterinary hospital with all the basic amenities available at its disposal.