Calling in a favour from my friend Alexander Tchakov, I took the opportunity to visit a couple of veterinary clinics in St.Petersburg ahead of the FECAVA EuroCongress which opening the next day.
Right after breakfast I was collected by Sasha, one of the clinics’ administrators and we were heading first for the impressive Kalininskaya Clinic which is managed by Ludmila Pavlovna.
My first impression was that I hadn’t seen such a spotless clinic for long time.
The clinic has 8(?) veterinarians and 
features both an MRI and a CT
They have their own in-house laboratory and by the look of it a managable case load.
Everyone was extremely welcoming and accommodating. Not at least Madame Pavlovna who decided that I looked undernourished and so treated me to a customary Russian lunch with a lot of home cooked food 
Sufficiently strengthened we headed off for Promorski District Veterinary Clinic.
Here too a spotless building and a few more patients.
I was informed that the clinic has specialists for surgery,internal medicine and feline medicine and the state funded vaccination clinics had ensured that the St.Petersburg region had stayed rabies free for 30(?) years.
Interesting in comparison to our clinics in the UK was the “infusion room” where clients can stay with their pets while i/v medication is been administered.
Apparently this is something most pet owners are expecting in Russia and the clinic is meeting this demand.
Both clinics were truly an impressive sight and they showed what a big step forward Russian companion animal veterinary medicine has made over the last 20 years.
So – time to attend the first European Small Animal Veterinary Congress in Russia….
The Blue Vet Diary 