Public Vet Centre closes down

Manama

Free medical services for your pets have always been a boon in the Kingdom. However, animal-rights activists and pet owners were equally shocked to learn the recent closure of the public pet clinic in Budaiya.

In accordance to a recent decree regarding veterinary services offered to economical and non- economical animals, the Agriculture and Marine Resources Affairs rolled down the shutters of the public pet clinic on Aug 15.

Bahrain Strays’ Fathiya Al Bastaki expressed her shock in the news of it closing down as said there are many people who can’t afford spending money at the private clinics.

Another citizen got the bitter end of the deal when her kitten recently fell ill. Mariam Hussain recalled, “I used to take my cats to the veterinary clinic which recently closed down… their services were great.”

“I took my cats a couple of time and they were treated well and got recovered,” said the distressed pet owner.

“Last Sunday, my kitten was severely ill. I was shocked when I reached there and found out that it got closed down,” added Hussain.

“I didn’t know where to take her! I heard that the private ones costs a lot… I couldn’t afford it. I ended up treating her myself with the medicines I had received from the government services earlier.”

However, it did not end well for the little cat. “My kitten died yesterday… I feel so bad because I couldn't take her to that public clinic. I felt helpless. I am just 18 and I can’t afford private clinics,” said the distressed Hussain.

There were also pet owners who got a bad end of deal at the clinic. Aymen Al Khozai recalled his experience when he took his injured dog to the clinic.

“It wasn’t close to being a good clinic, but it was something at least,” said the critical Khozai.

“I knew the doctors there, they weren’t bad, they just didn’t have the funding they needed or the medication required to treat the animals. The medication they used was not for animals but for people,” he said.

“I took my dog there once, when his leg was injured. They used iodine on his leg without a bandage, iodine is extremely poisonous to dogs and it shouldn’t be used on pets,” he recalled the horror.

“I now take my dog to Dr. Nonie Coutts, which is really expensive. My yearly budget is only about BD300,” said the dog owner.

Another pet owner Malik Madene supported the closure. The clinic could not afford to stock annual vaccinations for Madene’s dog. “I completely agree with such decision of closing down the government clinic, since they failed to comply with the requirements for establishing a vet centre.” “Our society lacks the awareness and culture of adopting and taking care of animals, since most of them tend to pet animals for utilitarian uses only,” added Madene.

More and more pet owners, including Ghazi Al Shehabi who pets a cat, also pointed out that the clinic’s access to almost nil funding was among the major reasons for its decline.

“I think any vet closing down due to budget cuts is horrible. It must have started with cutbacks until they couldn't even operate properly,” added Shehabi.