Speaking to Lusa News Agency , Sandra Duarte Cardoso, head of the non-governmental association SOS Animal , whic was established ten years ago and is behind the clinic, said the establishment is still waiting for the Portuguese Veterinary Board to officially recognise the institution’s director.
Lusa says it contacted the Ordem dos Veterinários to seek clarification on the matter but none was obtained by the time of going to press.
Comprising two consultation rooms, an x-ray room, an analysis laboratory, an operating block and three infirmaries – one for dogs, one for cats and one for cases of contagious diseases – the hospital was created from a converted shop that is rented from Lisbon Town Hall.
Extensive renovation and adaptation work was needed and took around three and a half years to complete, Sandra Duarte Cardoso explained.
The interventions were carried out little by little using funds from the association, mainly garnered from donations.
When it opens, the hospital will offer four different price charts; one for the general public, one for associations and associates of the charity SOS Animal, and two for properly-registered citizens on benefits.
“These people will have access to medical veterinary care with controlled prices, they will pay cost-price, or if they have no income they won’t pay anything”, Cardoso added.
SOS Animal says that the hospital’s location was chosen based on the fact Bairro da Horta Nova and the neighbouring Bairro Padre Cruz are impoverished areas, “not only to boost medical and veterinary care in the area (in these neighbourhoods there are cases of adults and children with diseases passed on by the animals), but also to work with locals with regard to civic education and respecting animals.”
Locals told Lusa they think it is a shame that the much-needed unit is still closed.
“It is unacceptable that something so perfect and so close to us is still closed, and that there are obstacles that keep it from opening”, said resident Albano de Almeida, owner of a dog and a cat that he took in from the streets.
Claiming that there are “dozens of dogs” in the neighbourhood, the resident said it is a shame that he has to go to a “clinic that is far away” whenever his animals need anything.
SOS Animal president Sandra Duarte Cardoso said she is sorry the clinic is as yet unable to help the population, “but if we look at it we have a serious legal problem. We cannot perform any veterinary-medical acts in the hospital until we are licensed, otherwise we will face a very large fine that could derail the project.”