I Get Bitten At Least Once a Month

Illustration: Vidyanand Kamat


Do you get a lot of cases of animal cruelty?
Yes. One is the cruelty meted out to animals on the street: Dogs and cats that are beaten up with sticks, stones or whatever sharp instruments people find. And there’s cruelty meted out to pet animals, largely in the form of neglect. Like dogs being chained up for long hours at a stretch with no freedom of movement. Sometimes, we get animals which are dehydrated because they were tied up hours in the sun without water, or ill, because they were left tied in open balconies in bitter winters.

Have you ever advised a family to put down their pet?
We don’t advise euthanasia on our own accord. The pet belongs to the owners, and that suggestion will always have to come from them. When a case comes to us, we examine the animal to see if it fulfils the requirement where it can be euthanised, where there is no recovery possible.

Other than dogs, what’s the most common animal that comes to you?
My clinic specialises in pets. So the next most common are cats. In India, a cat is not exactly favoured except in cities where there are large expat populations. The ratio pet dogs to cats in a typical Indian city is 100:1. We also do end up seeing rabbits, guinea pigs, parakeets and parrots. And injured birds like kites and owls that are rescued from the streets.

What’s the most outlandish pet you have treated?
Well, once a person brought a tortoise to be treated. It was injured. We dressed the wound and it soon recovered. People sometimes come with fish. Even in such cases, we give first aid, and ask them to take it to specialist.

Has a human being ever been brought to you in an emergency case?
Curiously, human emergencies happen even inside a vet clinic. Sometimes people insist on watching their pets’ wounds being treated, and suddenly they can’t bear to see the blood and feel faint or even fall unconscious. We did a quick check and had the person sent off to a hospital. I was a doctor in the Army for many years, so there were some rare instances where I was the only medical person around during an emergency, and if someone was wounded, yes, I did step in to treat.

Which animals are the toughest to handle and which are the easiest?
Certain dogs are tough customers. Some Rottweilers are very tough customers, and breeds mixed with the Saint Bernard can be very aggressive. I believe that dogs behave badly if they were ill-treated as pups. The easiest dogs to handle are the Alsatians, Labradors, Dalmatian, Golden Retrievers, all being very friendly.

How well does it pay to be a vet compared to the general physicians?
Vets who have a pet animal practice have a quite a bit of work these days. Today you can make a reasonably good income, comparable to a good position a professional would get in a company. But it is definitely not comparable to a super-specialist treating human diseases.

Have you ever got seriously bitten?
I get bitten at least once a month and a serious bite about twice a year. No matter how careful you are, and how gentle you are with your touch, you do get bitten.

Do you sometimes feel that animals are better to be around than humans?
All I can say is that a pet gives its owner unconditional love, without any expectation.

Is it possible for a vet not to be an animal lover?
To be a good vet, you have to like animals. If you don’t like them, you will never be able to engage them, or understand their personalities, which helps you make a good diagnosis.

Which breed of pet animal has the most health complications in the plains of India?
Certain dogs are vulnerable to skin problems, some to heart disease, others have hormonal problems. In reality, it is inbreeding that causes an entire generation of dogs that very prone to diseases. But dogs that properly bred, and where you have a clear sight of their pedigree on both sides of the parents, you are sure to have a health dog.

Do dogs ‘feel’?
They do. It has been known that if the master is very sick, the dogs come to know of it. It stresses them out too. And in some of them, the stress becomes so much that they develop health problems.

Horses are known to be complex animals. Would you call them moody?
A horse is a very predictable animal. They recognise you very well: If you were ever to fall from a horse, it is extremely rare that your horse would trample on you. Among all domestic animals, dogs and horses can become very close to human beings.
(As told to Dinesh Krishnan)

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