Baines Vet Care Mobile Animal Clinic has attracted a number of Keetmanshoop pet owners who hope to benefit from a free initiative to spray and neuter domesticated animals.
The clinic, owned by Dr. Ian Baines, began operations seven years ago and has since sterilised more than 60,000 animals across the country.
Besides spaying and neutering, the dogs and the cats were vaccinated and treated for internal and external parasites.
Over three days, more animals underwent surgical sterilisation, conducted by Dr. Ian Baines.
“We currently work in about 42 towns, villages, and settlements around Namibia; it started as a little sideline when I sold my practice seven years ago; now we have over 60,000 animals, and every time we go back to the same places, those people are welcome to come and have their check and vaccinated again, and we see a lot of healthy animals coming back. The male animals we castrate so that they don’t roam around, they are not on the street as much, they’re not picking up diseases, and they stay at home, look after the home, and become good companions to their owners, and that’s the main reason we do it. A lot of people think we are trying to limit the population; we’ll never get there; we’re literally just trying to make a better life for the people and the animals that we can attend to.”
Final-year UNAM veterinary students join Dr. Bains outreach missions on a rotational basis as part of their community engagement curriculum.
Apart from controlling unwanted breeding of cats and dogs, sterilisation also serves to improve the animals health.
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