Dubai: The newly opened Zabeel Veterinary Hospital will be the first in the Middle East to provide MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) services that will help diagnose a range of medical conditions in its patients.
During the official inauguration yesterday, Dr Abdullah Al Mutery, project manager of the hospital and director of Dubai Equine Hospital, told Gulf News, "Our focus is to provide unique services through state-of-the-art equipment and advanced techniques — whether it is X-rays or ultrasound — in the field of veterinary medicine. In about two months we are going to establish the MRI unit which isn't available in the region as yet."
The hospital project took four months to complete, he explained. "The challenge was to find the best staff with expertise, experience and good customer relations. We have vets who specialise in dogs and cats, large animals and even reptiles like turtles," he said.
"We will provide field services to larger animals like lions, tigers, cheetahs, etc, at farms and zoos. At the hospital, we can only accommodate one or two large animals, if it is an emergency, and can board 100 cats and about 78 dogs."
The hospital will operate round the clock, and will have in-patient, field as well as emergency services. It will cater to domestic and exotic pets, extending health care services like vaccinations, surgery, and dental.
Ali Reda Al Hashemi, director of the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL), told Gulf News, "The new facility has everything that is required for domestic and wild pets under one roof. In terms of patient ratio, we expect 70 per cent pets and the remaining wild animals. Our first few patients have been pets from the royal family."
Of collaborations between zoos and animal shelters, Al Hashemi said, "We will invite them to the facility and refer any animal that needs our services." He also explained that there will be a focus on research and development. "Given the expertise gained through the CVRL where new diagnostic techniques and vaccines are developed, we would like to conduct research through the hospital on pets," he said.
Claudia Kaiser, associate veterinarian, told Gulf News that she specialises in wild animals. "Most of the animals suffer from a range of medical conditions, requiring a host of treatments from vaccinations to bone and soft tissue surgeries."
