POLOKWANE – A hero is not necessarily someone who only assists or saves people. Some heroes are guardian angels for animals.
Review spoke to Dario and Arona Cremona, animal lovers and heroes to those who cannot speak for themselves. Dario is a veterinarian and recently got married to Arona, a veterinarian nurse. They work at Pietersburg Animal Clinic and explain how not only lockdown but Covid-19 affects their work.
“One thing that changed was our working hours. We are now working shorter hours to reduce our exposure to someone who might have the virus. This means we have to work a little harder to complete a day’s work in only a few hours, because our main priority is still taking care of animals,” says Arona.
To stay positive during this uncertain time is difficult. “We know to stay positive is hard but there is light at the end of the tunnel and the hope that things will get better as well as the knowledge that we are all in this together, gives one hope,” Dario explains.
Arona tries to stay busy, mentally and physically, to prevent her thoughts from turning negative. Motivation can take you either far or let you stay in one place. Arona’s love for her job is her motivation.“It may sound very cheesy but I love my job and enjoy every moment of it. My passion for animals motivates me to get up and tackle my day.”
Dario’s motivation comes from the animals who can’t fend from themselves.“To them, it’s like every other day and they can’t choose when they get sick. We always have to be there for them.”
The chance of getting sick is something that discourages Arona while Dario says people who cannot adhere to the rules and regulations and then expose others to the virus discourage him. “Along with people who use the situation as a bad excuse for not looking after their animals or abuse and abandon them.”
For every negative thing, there must be something positive. For Dario that is a happy, healthy animal and a happy owner. For Arona, it is to see happiness when an animal and his owner reunite. The absolute joy when owners can finally take their loving pet home after a few days in hospital.
“I have to take care of them like my own and it is the best feeling in the world to give a pet back to its owners. That excitement of both the owner and the pet makes everything worthwhile,” says Arona. Dario emphasises that you should not believe everything you read on social media. Call your vet and find out.
“We put our own health at risk to look after your animals, so we kindly ask you to follow the rules of self-isolation to keep not only yourself but everyone you may be in contact with out of danger.”
Dario advises farmers to not forget about other diseases such as foot and mouth disease in this time. “Safety measures must continue to be maintained at all times.”
