When Cigi fell ill with a fever the other day, an ambulance was called to take him to the hospital for emergency medical treatment.
What is unusual about this is that Cigi is a pet dog, and the ambulance is the first of its kind in China.
According to Yu Xinyi, president of the Huanggang Pet Hospital in Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province, the ambulance has served a great number of patients since being launched in May.
Complete with an operating table, an oxygen tank, intravenous equipment, a first-aid kit, and other medical apparatus, the ambulance is actually a mobile hospital.
According to Yu, most of the patients receiving emergency treatment suffer from acute diseases or are the victims of accidents.
(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2003)