There is barely an industry that hasn't been affected by the Coronavirus, and that includes animal care.
Dr. Kiko Bracker
Dr. Kiko Bracker, and emergency veterinarian at the MSPCA’s Angell Animal Medical Center, spoke about what it's like working these days.
Q: What is your role at the Angell Animal Medical Center?
Bracker: I am a specialist in Emergency and Critical Care. I help take care of sick patients in our ICU and see emergencies in the ER.
Q: How has your job changed since the public healthy emergency?
Bracker: The most significant change is that pet owners are not coming into the hospital. We communicate with them 100% by phone.
Q: What kind of safety precautions are you having to do now?
Bracker: No direct client contact, the staff has broken into two teams on either side of the week that never meet face to face, everyone wears masks, rigorous social distancing where possible, and specific protocols for handling animals from COVID positive or suspected positive households.
Q: Do you think the animals know something has changed?
Bracker: No, I’m envious of that. They are completely unaware of the issues that we are focused on associated with the outbreak. Hopefully they appreciate their people spending more time with them at home as we all hunker down at home.
Q: Anything else you’d like to say about the impacts of Coronavirus?
Bracker: We are doing our best to see all of our patients in need, and still protect ourselves. Some of our procedures have changed to accommodate the new situation, and hopefully everyone can be tolerant of the new changes. Please be flexible and be kind as we try to get through this.