MANY pet hospitals were busy taking in pets for the Spring Festival holidays with many people leaving Shenzhen for the holidays.
Some 80 percent of vacancies at a pet hospital in Meilin, Futian District, were booked out. We strongly suggest people reserve a place in advance if they have plans to leave town during the holidays, a hospital manager told yesterday s Daily Sunshine.
Many people had to leave their pets at stores when they were away because they did not want to bother friends or pay pet freight charges. It s very expensive to ship a dog on a flight back home, so I had to put my dog up at a nearby hospital, said a resident, identified as Zhou.
Care for a large pet weighing over 5 kilograms costs about 60 to 80 yuan (US$9-12) a day, while small to medium-sized pets weighing less than 5 kilograms cost between 30 and 60 yuan a day. Some hospitals offered VIP accommodation for pets for about 180 yuan a day. Food and water were included, the newspaper said.
All the pets were kept in separate cages and dogs were given health checks. We don t provide accommodation for diseased pets to prevent other pets from being infected, the manager said.
A veterinarian surnamed Zhang said residents should leave their pets at pet organizations with a good reputation, good environment and qualified staff. They also should train their pets to adapt to temporary care because some pets could refuse to eat and drink in an unfamiliar environment.
(Wang Yuanyuan)
