Nature Features

A new ambulance has been launched in Colchester – an emergency service for pets.  The vehicle is staffed by Petamedics who can perform first aid on injured or sick animals.

Glenn is a Senior Veterinary Surgeon who deals with emergency cases, he says the service will make a real difference:

The ambulance is staffed with petamedics

“It’s going to provide a way of getting animals to the vets quickly in an emergency.  If you think about it when a human family member becomes ill or has an accident you can just dial the emergency number and an ambulance will come rolling out, unfortunately for pets it’s not that simple.”

The Petamedics who drive and attend in the ambulance are able to perform life saving skills on the animals.  Lisa Hiskey is one of the crew:

"We’ve had emergency call outs but we also do in-patient transfers in the mornings, so when an animal comes in as an emergency case over night, we transfer them into their own vets in the morning."

The ambulance doesn't have a flashing light or siren yet, but a petition has gone to parliament to try and get one.

You can hear more about the pet ambulance by clicking on the link below.