Wednesday, October 24, 2007 Pet Clinic By Jigs Arquiza
You’d probably freak out if your pet suddenly started singing this children’s ditty, but when you think of it, if pets had the power of speech, wouldn’t they tell you if they were feeling poorly? What would you do if your pet got sick? In fact, how would you even know?
When pets exhibit unusual behavior, like being sluggish or lethargic when they used to be lively and energetic, or being too irritable when they were friendly before, it’s usually a sure sign that they’re feeling under the weather.
Luckily for pet owners, a sophisticated medical facility is already available in Cebu City designed to deal with animal illnesses.
The Aycardo Veterinary Center along N. Bacalso Avenue, under the administration of Dr. Gerald Aycardo, caters to patients of the canine, feline or avian variety.
According to Dr. Gerald, son of Dr. Jaime M. Aycardo, the quality of veterinary medicine needs to be improved a bit more. He explains, “Pet care is popular nowadays, but it’s usually limited to grooming. At most, a lot of veterinarians just give the needed shots to pets. Being a veterinary center, we are geared more towards the medical care of pets. We have a fully equipped laboratory and hospital using technology that you can usually find in hospitals for humans.
We can even take care of pets with cardiovascular diseases.” He expounds further, “Most people see vets as wannabe doctors. Actually, our job is kind of harder to do as our patients cannot tell us in words what they are feeling.
It’s up to us veterinarians to diagnose what kind of illness they have and cure them, usually through symptomatic treatment. If needed, we can even do laboratory tests on pets to make a correct diagnosis. In a way, I hope to change the way most people’s perceptions of us.”
Among the equipment that they use at the pet hospital are the phonocardiogram, which is used to monitor the cardiovascular activity of his animal patients; and the intra-oral camera, which is used to look at the interior of the pet’s mouth. The center also has a computerized database that allows him to make a diagnosis easier and faster.
Much like a hospital for humans, the veterinary center also has an operating room and “rooms”, actually holding pens or kennels, where pets stay when admitted. It even has a quarantine area for pets that are suspected of having contagious diseases.
Given the fast growing number of animal lovers in the city, a demand for pet healthcare will definitely follow. With the existence of this veterinary center, medical care for pets will no longer be a problem, and pet owners can be assured of quality medical care for their beloved furry, or feathered, friends.
