Pet adoptions up since March

With people taking home dogs in greater numbers, vet clinics are busier than ever before

Since the initial lockdown in March, Bengaluru’s pet-friendly city tag has gone up a notch. Children staying at home has resulted in more pet adoptions.

And parents are not averse to the idea as they are working from home. Dr Ansar Kamran from My Pet’s Choice Clinic in HSR Layout sees new patients coming in every day since lockdown.

“Some pets are too young and catch an infection fast. We need to treat them quickly,” he says.

Animal lovers are not deterred by rumours of pets spreading coronavirus. “People are more than happy to take care of their new furry friends,” he says.

Distancing a struggle

Not all veterinary clinics are open though. Transporting pets for treatment is not easy, given the lockdown restrictions. Dr Lohit of Bangalore Pet Hospital says, “We had to take in more cases as other clinics were not open. It was a struggle to maintain social distance and apply the one-person-one-dog rule.”

Visitors to clinics are checked for temperature. “There are cases where the pet parents had a fever and we had to turn them away. However, we have taken the pets, given necessary treatment, and handed them back,” Dr Lohit says.

Teleconsultation

Teleconsultation is being widely used by vets. Bangalore Pet Hospital gets requests for home consultation too.

Dr Dheeraj B Kashyap of Indira Pet Clinic, Indiranagar, says, “Veterinary clinics have been busier than ever before because of new parents. Those who cannot come to the clinics have been consulting us over video and voice calls.”

Vaccine shortage

Vets Metrolife spoke to are worried over a shortage of pet vaccines. “Some are imported and we are using alternatives if we can’t ask pet parents to come back later,” says Dr Ansar.

It is hard for clinics to give specific appointments because even an X-ray that takes only two minutes can extend to 20 minutes if the pet does not cooperate. “Pet parents have to wait till they are called,” he says.

RWAs can’t ban pets

Residents’ welfare associations can’t bar their members from having pets, according to new guidelines issued by the Karnataka government’s animal husbandry department. RWAs and apartment owners’ associations can’t cite barking as a reason to keep dogs out of their members’ homes, the guidelines say. There can be no restriction on the number of pets, and they should be allowed to use the lift. Poisoning, killing and injuring pets is a punishable offence under Section 428 and 429 of the Indian Penal Code, the guidelines say. The department also encourages people to feed stray dogs.

Good news

With fewer vehicles on the road, accident cases have become rare since March. Clinics aren’t seeing too many dogs injured in road accidents.