Pet owners are on the rise in Coimbatore district. While they care for their pets as a member of their family and ensure all possible comfort, they are discontent with the healthcare infrastructure available for pets in the district.Shortage of advanced veterinary infrastructure, specialized medical services and essential healthcare personnel is not only leaving pet owners in distress, but also compromising animal welfare.According to pet owners, Coimbatore lacks a systematic, well-equipped animal blood bank. Finding a standard, last-minute blood donor remains a major challenge.Frank Majella, founder and president, Coimbatore chapter of Pet Care Providers Welfare Association India, highlights the severe risks of this deficit, citing a recent crisis where an Erode resident scrambled to find a donor for a chippiparai puppy.“It is very hard to find a donor last minute. Sometimes, a healthy donor might fall sick, and all these will exacerbate the recipient’s sickness,” says Majella.This issue is further compounded by the absence of critical care for acute conditions like splenic torsion (spleen twist) in deep-chested breeds like German shepherds which could become fatal within an hour, if left untreated.Local private hospitals frequently turn away complex emergencies, referring owners to facility-rich neighbouring states such as Karnataka (Veterinary College, Bengaluru) or Kerala (College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Thrissur). For many, these long-distance transits result in devastating, preventable mortalities due to time delays.The deficit extends to diagnostic and surgical capabilities as well. While basic complete blood count machines are common in private clinics, advanced diagnostics like serum biochemistry profiling are restricted to the district govt polyclinic and a select few private setups. Advanced oncology, veterinary neurology, renal dialysis and specialized orthopaedics remain virtually unavailable locally.Kesica Jayapalan, founder, NGO, Dogs of Coimbatore, says that she had to transport her dog to Dindigul for surgery following a severe road accident due to lack of veterinary orthopaedic specialists in Coimbatore.At the institutional level, acute staffing shortage stalls necessary upgrades. A veterinarian at Coimbatore district govt veterinary polyclinic, says they are handling roughly 140 cases during morning sessions alone.“Without new hires or animal handlers since 2013, a single veterinarian is left to manage sample collection, laboratory analysis, anesthesia administration, complex surgical procedures and post-operative patient care,” the source says.While basic fractures are handled locally, intricate orthopaedic procedures that require more than three hours of surgery are shelved due to manpower deficit. Furthermore, highly specialized equipment like CT scans are currently limited to just two operational locations across Tamil Nadu.“The govt should organize frequent refresher training sessions at least once every three to six months to keep staff updated on various species, including exotic ones,” says one of the veterinarians at the district polyclinic.The demographics of veterinary patients have also shifted dramatically. Over the past five to six years, the patient ratio at the polyclinic has shifted from being entirely canine to 50% cats, 40% dogs and nearly 10% exotic or miniature species, including sugar gliders, birds, turtles and rabbits. However, care for exotic species is often denied due to lack of specialized training.Dr S Thirukumaran, regional joint director, animal husbandry, says while several proposals are awaiting state approval, an animal blood bank is highly considerable based on rising demand. “Official requests for advanced diagnostic technologies are being drafted, alongside the Union govt’s restructuring initiatives aimed at modernizing regional animal husbandry services.”
