Petsitters barred from administering shots, office warns
By Lo Kuo-chia and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
The law does not permit petsitters to give medical injections to animals under their care, the New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office said yesterday.
Only qualified veterinarians and veterinary assistants are authorized to give medical injections to animals, with exceptions for veterinary students, graduates and certified animal medical assistants working under a veterinarian’s guidance, the office said in a statement.
The office issued the statement in response to a report that a petsitter had been giving shots to a cat with chronic kidney disease.
A dog is pictured at a vet in New Taipei City in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office
The office said its investigation found the petsitter, who was not a licensed veterinarian, had provided medical treatment to someone else’s pet, potentially violating the Veterinarian Act (獸醫師法).
The offense carries a fine of up to NT$500,000, and the drugs and medical equipment involved are subject to confiscation, it said.
Administering subcutaneous fluids is a medical procedure and should not be treated as routine pet care, it said.
If an owner needs someone to give their pets medical injections, they should consult a veterinary clinic and make safe and legal arrangements, the office said.
The office cited an earlier official interpretation permitting owners, following veterinary diagnosis, prescription and instruction, to provide necessary care to their own pets.
Even petsitters who are trained to perform the procedure are not allowed to do so on a pet that belongs to another person, the office said.
Contravening the law is punishable by a NT$100,000 to NT$500,000 fine, it said.
There is a red line separating animal care and veterinary science that should not be crossed, New Taipei City Veterinary Medical Association head Luo Qing-bo (駱清波) said in the statement.
The appropriate type and dosage of the drug, injection site, method of injection and knowing the signs of adverse reactions are among the skills needed to give a shot to an animal, Luo said.
Giving shots is a medical procedure because, if performed incorrectly, it could result in infection, bleeding or other injury, he added.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.