Any advanced medical treatment that humans can get; their pets can now get too!

Any advanced medical treatment that humans can get; their pets can now get too! There are firms that are coming up with medical accessories and tools specifically for animals; such as commercial kits for screening dogs for lymphoma cancer. In pet-loving countries, advanced medicalisation of pet care is now more of a norm than a rarity. Vets are trained and equipped to perform various advanced medical procedures – preventive as well as curative.

Vets can now fit braces on protruding teeth of animals, conduct cosmetic surgeries for improving their looks and even perform CPR on dead animals. A cancerous golden retriever named Comet underwent a £30,000 stem cell transplant – another example of successful sophisticated medical treatments for animals. Cambridge University now has a linear accelerator - similar to that used to treat cancer in humans - providing radiotherapy to pets with cancerous tumours.

Meanwhile, what is also being debated by some observers is the morality of this emerging phenomenon. As with all such debates, there are naturally pros and cons of advanced treatments. Of course, hardly anyone from the veterinary field has so far seriously questioned the ethics of extending several invasive human medical techniques to animals.

In real terms, surely animal lovers have little reason to complain at the ever-widening reach of modern medical procedures? Should they simply be happy over the increasing the lifespan of their pets thanks to advanced research of drug companies and added incentives offered by pet insurance firms? Or does the argument that such advances are not truly in the interests of the animals concerned hold some validity?

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