The core team of Paw Path (L-R) Laila Mallik, Paramita Das, Manoj Michigan, Gouranga Thakur, Ronen Roy, Chandrima Roy, Sumeet Panjabi, Malini Panjabi and Nirota Thakur. The missing member is Ayesha, Laila’s elder sister. Picture: Anindya Shankar Ray

Worried about the long wait and uncertainty surrounding the tests of your pet? Breathe easy as Paw Path, a private diagnostic centre for animals, has opened doors in the lane opposite Gitanjali Stadium, off the Kasba connector.

TEAM OF 10

A team effort by a group of 10 friends (four couples and two sisters) the pathological laboratory is a move towards saving our four-legged friends. “All of us have pets at home and we could sense that one of the most important things missing in the city was a diagnostic laboratory specifically meant for animals. We wanted to do something about it,” said international development officer Laila Mallik.

PROJECT PAW PATH

Over three years, the 10 animal lovers met over lunches and dinners at The Tollygunge Club, chasing tails. “Every Sunday we went looking for a place. The moment we said ‘kukur’ (dog), they said, ‘Hobena. Ora kamrabe, chenchabe… (Won’t work. They will bite or shout)’. We were losing hope and then suddenly we found a landlord who is an animal lover!” said IT businessman Sumeet Panjabi, his three dogs beside him greeting visitors at Paw Path. In August 2012, the team took possession and by February, the two-level path lab spread over 800sq ft woofed off at Rajdanga Main Road.

TEST CASE

Next up was the equipment, or rather the lack of it in Calcutta, which meant importing it through medical dealers, months of chasing and investing lakhs of rupees. The efforts paid off. Paw Path now houses top-grade equipment for animals, right from Haematology Auto-analyser (for automatic analytical capacity about the animal sample) to culture sensitivity instruments (used for urine and stool culture or sterilisation purposes) and colorimeters for biochemistry tests like albumin, blood sugar and globulin.

Among the pathological services offered are digital X-rays, haematology tests, bio-chemistry tests, electrolyte testing, stool and urine testing, skin-scraping examination and collection of samples. The reports are all certified by veterinary pathologist Shankar Kar.

A spare room on the first floor will be expanded into a USG, ECG and endoscopy section. “One of the most important tests is the haemoprotozoan which diagnoses diseases like canine babiosis and tick fever that often leave our pets in near-death situations,” said orthopaedic surgeon Ronen Roy, one of the founding members along with wife Chandrima.

To make things easy, samples can be collected from home and the results can be emailed, texted or couriered.

DO IT RIGHT

Until now, there were only three diagnostic centres — the two state government-sponsored ones at Narendrapur and Belgachhia (which require the government veterinary hospitals to refer the animals to the labs) and Ashari, the animal shelter-cum-research hospital at Mukundapur.

For immediate results, pet owners often had to rely on path labs for humans. How did that work? “Generally, the vet’s assistant collects the sample and sends it to the human path labs under false names. If we had to get our pets directly tested, then it meant a visit to one of the smaller diagnostic labs where we would discreetly wait outside since the labs couldn’t have anyone know about the animal tests. It’s illegal after all,” said an exasperated Chandrima, who teaches at the Institute of English Calcutta when she’s not at the lab.

“Human labs are cheaper but there is no guarantee of accuracy since the reagents required for animal testing are different from those for human testing,” asserted Sumeet, whose graphic designer wife Malini is also part of Team Paw Path.

“Pet owners need to understand the importance of the right diagnosis and accurate results. Vets should also insist on the right methods,” concluded filmmaker Manoj Michigan.

Sreyoshi Dey

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