IT’S REIGNING CATS AND DOGS
The International Veterinary Hospital treat your pets like royalty By bazaar staff
If there is one reason and one reason alone to venture all the way to Mina Abdulla, it would be to visit the International Veterinary Hospital or IVH as it is known. When the hospital was first set up in 2003 it was absolutely in the middle of the desert. The roads and infrastructure has grown significantly only over the last few years. The choice of location is indicative of everything that this hospital does; focus on the animal. It wouldn’t be possible to get such a large space anywhere else where the funding would go to treating animals and not to real estate. And this is why IVH is so beloved. Their goal is purely the welfare of the animals they treat. The specialism at the moment is cats and dogs, and about 65% of the animals treated are of the feline variety, dogs being a little less popular and not as easy to keep as a little cat. Even at reception they have already thought empathetically of the animals. How stressful it must be to be coming to the vet, that instinct the animals have when they know they’re going to the vet for a check-up, inoculations, to treat sickness or an emergency. Thoughtfully there are two receptions. One for both cats and dogs which can be a lively room at times, or owners can choose the side access where cats have their very own reception area so they don’t have to cope with over-inquisitive dogs. What is noticeably different about the staff here, you can feel as you walk in the door. Guided by Services Manager Mari Centeno, an energetic American/ Venezuelan, the reception staff, genuinely have an interest in these furry family members and this puts you at ease when placing your pet in their care. Mari has a rescue dog herself, and he stays in the kennels while she works all day, but she pops across to see him when she can. He’s very loudly super protective of Mari when in kennels, but turns into a submissive little sweetheart putting out his paw to be held once he’s outside. His bark is definitely worse than his potential bite, as this pup bounds around with all the joys of life and not a care in the world, when he’s with Mari. The inspiration for IVH actually came from a dog; a St.Bernard who belonged to the family who founded the hospital as a side project, and not considered a primary form of income. Plainly put, the founding family is not doing IVH for the money but for the desire to deliver a service they couldn’t get for their beloved pet. While the original dog is no longer with us, if you go into the staff room there is a wall dedicated to all the St. Bernards that the family has enjoyed over the years. There is also a wall dedicated to the doctors and staff of the hospital, past and present. While IVH may be a ‘hobby’ don’t let that light terminology fool you. It is one of the most well-invested 112