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info@placencia-pets.org

 

Placencia Vet Clinic at Purple Space Monkey after Hurricane Iris, Novemer 2001, Placencia BelizeSince its inception, PHS has struggled with the problem of a place to provide vet services to local pet owners and distressed animals.

Over 200 Placencia area pet owners use veterinary services provided through Emily waits for the vet with her dog, Placencia Village Community Center, Placencia Belizethe PHS monthly clinics, including surgical and general veterinary services. 

And, PHS clinics now serves not only pet owners from Placencia and Seine Bight Villages, but also from locations off the Placencia Peninsula such as Monkey River and Independence Villages and Dangriga Town. 

The Placencia Village Community Center in Placencia Village is currently used for all monthly veterinary clinics.  (Clinics were once held under people's houses and in local homes -- wherever a space became available.)

2004 Elections at the Placencia Community Center, Placencia BelizeHowever, Placencia's Community Center is the only indoor public meeting and activity space for the entire Peninsula.  In addition to the monthly PHS clinic, the Center’s uses include the Placencia Village pre-school program, public meetings such as Village Council meetings, special events such as talent shows and beauty contests, and private events such as the annual meeting of the Placencia Producers Cooperative.   

Because of the Center’s multi-functional characteristics, using the Community Center for monthly PHS veterinary clinics has presented many problems and “challenges” for PHS and the Placencia community, including: 

  • Scheduling Conflicts:  PHS attempts to schedule clinics as far in advance as possible.  However, changes in monthly clinic dates often occur because veterinarian schedules change due to meetings, emergencies, etc.  Rescheduling use of the Community Center on a last minute basis then becomes problematic due to other groups having already reserved the Center. 

    Consequently, area pets may not receive needed veterinary care, vaccinations are delayed, dogs and cats cannot be neutered resulting in unwanted puppies and kittens, and community members learn that they may not be able to rely on regular veterinary care for their pets.
     
  • Conflicting Uses:  Local parents of pre-schoolers recently became upset when ticks and fleas were discovered in the Community Center after a monthly vet clinic.  PHS sprays the area used for the vet clinic with Baygon, but the building is old, with many cracks and crevices in the walls and woodwork, and pets sometimes wander outside of the area used for the clinic.  Therefore, it is likely that some fleas and ticks may escape the spraying.  The Center is also frequently used for events that include food and beverages, a use not compatible with veterinary clinic use.
     
  • Lack of Storage, Equipment and Sanitary Facilities:  Each time a clinic is held, all supplies must be transported to the Center by BOTH local volunteers AND the attending veterinarian.  Nothing can be stored, including cleaning materials, veterinary supplies, or even an examining table.  (Right now, the “examining table” is the top of an old wooden table placed on top of an old, no longer functional deep freezer.  In the past, the table top has even been placed on top of stacks of beer crates left over after a Placencia Fisherman's Coop annual meeting).  Only one small bathroom is available, and no hot water.

A permanent clinic building, including a small apartment for a veterinarian, would also allow PHS to attempt to recruit a permanent veterinarian for the area.