Feral cats and dogs in Kuwait are exposed to hunger and adverse weather conditions, and are often involved in car accidents. But not many care about the welfare of these stray animals, and if someone does want to help them, they are discouraged by the steep expenses involved.
But not Obaid Al-Azmi, a veterinarian who provides medical treatment to these poor creatures for free. Azmi also tries to provide a warm and safe environment, foster homes or temporary shelters for abused, abandoned and neglected animals through his Instagram account.
Kuwait Times spoke to Azmi to learn more about his work. Some excerpts.
Kuwait Times: Tell us more about yourself.
Obaid Al-Azmi: I work as a veterinarian at the Kuwait Zoo. I have 13 years of experience in this field. I have a two-year veterinary diploma from Kuwait and a bachelor's degree in veterinary surgery from Yemen. I will complete my master's degree in Egypt this month.
KT: How did you start as a veterinarian?
Obaid: I became a veterinarian by chance, as I was in the military when I got accepted in the specialty of veterinary medicine.
KT: What do you like about what you do? What do you dislike?
Obaid: I love everything about what I do, but it is hard work. You have to know everything about every animal. For example, at the zoo, I have to treat giraffes, lions, etc, and at my private clinic, I treat cats, dogs and birds. And every animal is totally different from another.
KT: What education or skills are needed to be a vet?
Obaid: You have to get a degree first, then learn everything about every animal. Being a veterinarian is more difficult than being a human doctor, because doctors treat one kind of species (humans) with one known structure, but animals are way different from each other. But now veterinarians have also started to specialize in specific kinds of animals.
As for me, I took more than 20 training courses with well-known veterinarians outside Kuwait, and recently a Kuwaiti female human doctor taught me how to use ultrasound. I even know which human medicines are good for animals, as they are cheaper.
KT: What is most challenging thing about what you do?
Obaid: The challenges that I face is that I can't make people understand that their pets, horses, sheep, or cows need vaccinations in order to avoid deadly diseases. Instead of paying KD 100 for treatment, you can just pay KD 10 for vaccination. The diseases will not only affect animals, they will also affect the owners and their children if cats or dogs bite them.
KT: Tell us more about rescuing animals from the street?
Obaid: Till around seven years ago, I heard from a lot of people that when they try to save a cat or dog from the street, they have to pay a lot of money to do so. They could not afford to pay KD 600 for a street animal, as people have their own responsibilities and priorities. So I started to treat those animals for free if it was a simple case, but if it needed further treatment, I make them pay only for the medicines with no extra charge.
The most helpful person I have ever met is someone called Waleed, an animal lover who lives in Mahboula. He is always ready to help and ferries the animals on his motorcycle because he does not have a driving license.
The other challenge is that there is a shortage of medicines. Despite Kuwait being an advanced country, it hasn't paid attention to the importance of veterinary medicine, even though the authorities know that animals can affect humans with serious diseases, such as bird flu. And until 10 years ago, Kuwait only had four veterinarians.
KT: What is most rewarding thing about being a veterinarian?
Obaid: The happiness of seeing animals in good health. And it teaches me to be more patient.
KT: What advice would you offer someone considering this career?
Obaid: I advise them to work in the private sector, because the Kuwaiti government does not support this career with the poor salaries it pays. But in the private sector, you will earn a lot.
KT: How much time off do you get/take?
Obaid: Actually I suffer from permanent anxiety and cannot ignore even a normal call to help an animal. Even my wife asks me to switch off my phone to spend a normal day with my family for once. But she understands that those animals need me.
KT: What is the most exciting change you've seen in veterinary medicine?
Obaid: Since the past 10 years, veterinary medicine in Kuwait is evolving. Today we use advanced devices such as x-ray and sonar machines, endoscopes and plastic surgery for sutures by using strings that melt away and leave the wound with no marks. Earlier, vets used to make a 5-cm-long incision for sterilization surgeries, but now we make an opening of less than half a centimeter to remove the animal's uterus.
KT: Which animal has been your most memorable patient?
Obaid: My most memorable animal patient was a street cat that had an accident and came to me with broken legs. Everyone advised me to amputate its legs before it was too late, but I desisted. Now it walks with only a simple limp.
KT: Are you a cat person or a dog person?
Obaid: I'm a cat person - everybody knows that my cat Sundos is spoiled!
KT: What makes a good veterinarian?
Obaid: Understand the situation, and do not treat animals just for money.
By Faten Omar