Hi-tech care at Vet Hospital

By Udena.R. Attygalle

An operating theatre for animals ? Not in Sri Lanka you might say . But the Veterinary Teaching Hospital at the Peradeniya University provides just this . It also has ultra sound scanning , x'ray and fiber optic endoscopy facilities. All this make it the premier veterinary care institute in the island .

Accommodating around 10,000 to 12,000 ailing pets a year, the institute provides facilities such as medical care, surgical facilities and laboratory diagnosis for a variety of our four legged friends. Among them are dogs, cats, ponies, cows and many more .

The clinic itself was established in 1990 .Earlier the OPD was functional for just two hours per day.

When the Pet column team visited the hospital last Wednesday we were met by a very busy team of vets, all of whom are lecturers at the veterinary department .A few volunteers were also helping out.Unfortunately the hospital doesn't have a programme to train those who have not made it through to the vet faculty.

The scenario was reminiscent of a episode of the hit TV serial ER.(Except here all the patients were four legged!) That day according to Dr Niranjala De Silva the head of the clinical department, "was a relatively lax day"!

The OPD room is the place where the sick animals are taken to . Here the animals are put on neatly placed tables and diagnosis and treatment take place.

If surgery is needed they are rushed to the surgical theatre. On the day we visited two operations were taking place- Timmy, a Japanese Spitz had to go through surgery due to a problem in her womb and Bambi, a 12 year old Alsation too had his ear operated. The owner of Bambi Mrs N Fernando interestingly, has eight dogs!

Dr Niroshan Gamage who performed the operations that day said becoming a vet was one of those things that just happened. He added that "getting in to surgery had made his work exciting and interesting."

According to him about 12 operations take place each day! The commonest operation is sterilization .Other operations include removing tumors,eye surgery and operating on fractures. Infact almost 20 per cent of all animals entered to the clinic require some form of surgery.

The wards where "inward patients" are kept are usually full but were not so on Wednesday with most animals having to be sent home, due to the university strike that was going on at that time.

But we were met by a very special(and madly barking! ) Alsation called Bongso in the small animal ward. Brought to the hospital to be uthernized, suffering terribly he had somehow made it through.He now remains at the hospital as a blood donor.

Even exotic animals like pythons and cobras are brought here for treatment .It was only recently that a crocodile had been brought by the WildLife department in Anuradhapura with a hook stuck in its mouth!

Though this is the best equipped veterinary clinic in the country,a few short-comings remain. The hospital is in need of a larger vehicle than its jeep, for occasions like immunization campaigns. A small vehicle means not all students are able to gain valuable practical experiences on these occasions.

But all in all, if ever your pet gets seriously ill this clinic would probably be hisor her best and last hope.

Tinky's 'godsend'

Reader Mrs Lalie Karandawala sent us this heart-warming story about her dog Tinky.

"Tinky was a strong pup when I brought her home four years ago. She has grown into a faithful, obedient and loving dog who follows me like a shadow.

Tinky had a bad time when she lost her pups. Though we expected a safe delivery, things turned difficult and we had to rush her to the Peradeniya Vet.Faculty. The doctors did their best but all four pups were still-born. When we brought Tinky home, she went to her usual bed, snuggled up on her mattress and gave a mournful cry, as though she was looking for her puppies. She did not eat for three days. She was also in pain as her nipples were full and heavy with milk. My heart broke to see her so sad. As a mother I could imagine the pain.

A few days after Tinky lost her pups, I came across a puppy down our lane. When I petted it, it followed me and I realised it had been abandoned. It seemed just about two weeks old. To my great surprise I found Tinky a little while later with the puppy suckling contentedly from her. I could only conclude that she may have found her near our house and had decided to 'adopt'her. The puppy refused to leave Tinky's side and I realised it was a 'godsend.'

We named the pup Tikiri. She is now two years old and Tinky and Tikiri, the 'mother' and 'daughter' are a happy pair of playmates.

Local dog food

Hunting for a tasty bowl of dog food for your canine companion? If you are what follows should get your tail wagging!

For the first time in Sri Lanka dog food will be produced locally. Done by the well known Shetna Poultry Farm (Pvt) Ltd , the product named "Happy pets premium dog food" will be officially on the market in mid July.

The 1kg pack will come at the relatively low price of Rs 50 , around 40 per cent less than most imported varieties.

The product according to Lasanga Jinadasa, Managing Director of the farm "is up to the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrient Profile (Association of American Feed Control Officials) standards and is also registered under the newly implemented Animal Feed Act."

"The product went through a trial period of nine months during which time it was tested on the 30 farm dogs, and dogs belonging to various friends. It was an instant success," he added.

The Shetna farm which has already pumped in Rs 20 million for the project hopes to also put out a brand of cat food in the future

Readers are welcome to send in their questions about Pet Care and even interesting stories to The Vet Column, C/o The Sunday Times, P.O. Box 1136, Colombo

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