CHENNAI: You see that man who just brought in his dog, it’s a clear case of hyperthyroidism. There’s skin discolouration and heat-seeking behaviour. He’s gone to three doctors, it seems, and all couldn’t reach a diagnosis. The blood test will confirm it, but I’m pretty sure it’s hyperthyroidism.
Like him, I see several cases in a day. In a week, I see maybe 60 cases per day, and over the weekends, I see around 100 cases. Last month, I must have conducted around 132 surgeries, which is less than the usual 300-400 because we are reconstructing the shelter. I’ve helped many celebrities and IAS officers with their pets.
In my hometown of Karanur in Kallakurichi district, we used to have around ten cows. Growing up, I used to take care of them with my father. I think that’s where my love for animals began. I graduated from Madras Veterinary College with a Bachelor’s degree in Veterinary Science in March 2013. In April of that year, I started my job here. My first case was a dog that had a snake bite. The family brought the dog from their house in Tambaram. I took a blood test, administered the right serum, and kept the dog for about two days to recover. I have treated all kinds of animals. See this goat here. Her name is Lakshmi. We rescued her from Adyar after the 2013 floods. Since then, she has been staying here. Finding her owners is a very difficult task, and no one has come to claim her. She’s very friendly, and she just spends her time here with the other animals.
Aside from pets and domestic animals, I also treat circus animals. They called me in to see one of their camels, which had maggots. They take very good care of the animals, and keep all necessary records. The circus animals are well trained. I was wondering how to treat the camel because it was so tall, but the keeper just told him to sit down and it listened.
I also accompany Dr Muthukrishnan, a professor at the Veterinary College, when he goes for consultations to the Vandalur Zoo. I’ll tell you one thing — giving treatment for those chimpanzees is a headache. If we give them a tablet, they’ll spit it out at us. So we have to pretend to drink the medicine, and then give it to them, and then they’ll take it. They throw banana peels at us, too.
I believe that being a veterinarian is the hardest occupation. For a person, you have various specialised doctors for different issues, but as a veterinarian, I have to take care of everything, from administering injections to conducting surgery. We have only a few technicians to help me. I start in the morning and work until very late at night. People keep coming in, all through the day. There have been days where I haven’t eaten or used the washroom, and I have kidney stones because of it.
People in Chennai treat their pets with so much love. It’s like they are a part of their family. From the highest IAS officer to any local, they treat their pets with affection and bring their pets themselves. The man who brought in the dog with thyroid, his slippers are torn and he hasn’t eaten anything since morning. But he’s still going around getting the medicines and bringing the pets here. When I see people like that, I am motivated to work harder.