AKS Animal Care Centre is a new full-service animal care centre that aims to provide the best quality medical care for the furry, four-legged citizens of our country. Recently, I spent a day at AKS Animal Care Centre located in Baridhara getting to know the team and gained some insight on their mission and operations. The clinic’s primary focus is to save animal lives, no matter the time, cost, or circumstance. With the motto, ‘compassionate love for all walks of life’, AKSACC strives to ensure that no animal is neglected from proper care; that they are treated with respect and empathy. They provide a full range of general, surgical, and specialized care along with emergency treatment services for animals in critical condition.
The directors of the AKS Animal Care Centre, Ayesha Khan and Zubaida Mehzabin, are devoted animal lovers who decided to open AKSACC due to a lack of adequate care centers or clinics in Dhaka for their own pets. “Apart from providing best quality health care to the animals, our goal is also to advocate animal rights, eliminate animal cruelty and help to reshape the culture maltreating the animals” explained Ayesha Khan.
What stood out most during my visit was their affection for animals and the transparency of communications with their clients. The quality they most prize in their future employees during the hiring process is the innate empathy they have towards animals. AKSACC believes that the employee will be able to understand the urgency and necessity for proper care only if they are empathetic towards animals, and as their cute little patients cannot speak, every member of the Animal Care Centre team must have skills to pick up subtle cues on how their patients are feeling and what they are trying to communicate.
In addition to the directors, the rest of the team consists of two exceptionally qualified veterinarians – Dr Ireen Sultana, the Senior Veterinary Practitioner and Dr. Shazit Hasan Joy, Assistant Veterinary Practitioner, a receptionist, a security guard, and a facility cleaner. Both the veterinarians completed their Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degrees from Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Science University.
Before joining the Animal Care Centre, Dr. Sultana worked in Tamilnadu Veterinary University in India as an intern veterinarian. Dr. Sultana also holds a Master of Surgery degree with an outstanding CGPA (4.0). On the other hand, Dr. Shazit is currently completing his Master of Veterinary Medicine. Besides continuing to self-learn from their regular practice, both vets are engaged in various continued education programs. In Dr. Shazit’s opinion, “becoming a quality veterinarian is a lifelong process. It is really important to carefully pay attention to every single detail and continue learning to further enhance our skills and knowledge.”
All operations of the AKSACC strictly adhere to Global Best Practices of veterinary care. AKSACC currently houses three exam rooms, a surgery room, a treatment room with ultrasound, an observation room, and an isolation room for animals with contagious diseases. Moreover, they are also contemplating on expanding their facilities to include x-ray and blood testing services. AKS Animal Care Center strives to serve as an example of quality pet care in this city which is why they adhere to the highest standards of veterinary practice and provide around the clock emergency medical services for their clients. “We strictly follow protocols for diagnosis and use evidence-based medicine to treat our patients. Rather than treating the symptoms, we aim to treat the root disease,” explained Dr. Sultana while talking about their practices and protocols.
Surgeries and treatments are performed meticulously with the highest standards of hygiene. The centre is well maintained and disinfected throughout the day and entry to the surgery room without proper preparation is prohibited in order to maintain sterility. Moreover, Zubaida Mehzabin added, “We take our surgeries very seriously. There is always risk when using anesthesia on small animals, just like in humans, therefore we use gas anesthesia which is known to be the safest. Also, while one doctor is performing the surgery, the other doctor is focused on monitoring anesthesia, including checking blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and even blood pressure in real time. We ensure that all details of each procedure and associated risks are conveyed to our clients so that they can make an informed decision and give consent before each surgery.”
The AKS Animal Care Centre also uses a special veterinary database software to keep records of client activity and patient medical history accurately. They are creating an impact by first trying to set an example of quality animal healthcare and client services, and secondly by extending their services to all kinds of animals, be it pets or strays. Oftentimes, when people bring in stray dogs or cats, the cost of care is subsidized for them. AKSACC also extends this consideration towards clients who may not have the means to pay in full. For them, providing adequate care to the patient is more important than profit.
Although the official working hours are between 12:00 PM to 08:00 PM, Saturday – Thursday, there are many instances when clients have called on a Friday or late at night due to an emergency when they opened the centre especially for them and provided emergency services. There is a dedicated emergency on-call number (01766926701) where clients have 24/7 access to a vet, and a separate number (01770476749) to book appointments. As a result, the center has been able to help many pets survive from critical conditions due to the quick response from the vets despite the hour.
The directors of AKSACC feel that the state of animal care is certainly moving towards the path of improvement and progress in our country. Even 15 years ago, there were hardly any pet hospitals available, and those which existed were not even compliant. However, now there are at least 10 pet care centers that provide clinical support, and some also provide surgery and x-ray services which is very promising for the rapidly growing population of pet parents in Bangladesh.
Moreover, AKSACC regularly shares insightful educational content on their social media pages to educate their clients. Besides that, they also have plans to expand their current social media operations by opening a website and creating a blog about animal care, where the aim is to convey insightful information about animal care to pet owners and spread awareness about animal welfare. At the end of the day, the overarching goal of the directors of the clinic, Ayesha Khan and Zubaida Mehzabin, is to ultimately create a vet community that will stand in solidarity with those advocating for animal rights and quality healthcare practices through shared knowledge and skills.