Councilor seeks gov’t healthcare for QC cats and dogs

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MANILA, Philippines — Pets also have a right to low-cost health care, says a Quezon City councilor who has filed a draft ordinance calling for the establishment of a government-funded veterinary clinic that attend to the needs of pets of poor residents.

The proposed ordinance has been referred for further study by the Quezon City Coucil’s committees on health and sanitation; appropriations;  laws, rules and internal government.

According to the measure’s proponent, District 5 Councilor Karl Edgar Castelo, “Just like human beings, pets of residents of Quezon City, especially cats and dogs, should be accorded necessary and affordable healthcare and veterinary services possible.”

Castelo said low-income cat and dog owners should alse be given access to affordable veterinary treatment, vaccination, grooming and medicine for their pets.

Under the provisions of the draft ordinance creating the Quezon City public veterinary clinic, the facility is to offer cheap veterinary services to local low-income residents and is to be equipped with the necessary tools and supplies needed for the examination, treatment and surgery of ailing pets.

The clinic is to be placed under the control and supervision of the local health office’s veterinary division.

While most local veterinary clinics offer steep prices for the treatment of pets, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society’s Animal Rehabilitation Center is the only facility in Quezon City currently offering low-cost health services for cats and dogs of indigent pet owners.

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