SMA Animal Hospital project will continue, however, it will be limited

Published June 24th, 2022

The animal hospital project will be taken up again by the current administration, construction works will restart Monday, June 27th.

San Miguel de Allende.- Pet hospital construction will continue starting this coming Monday, however, it will be limited since it will not include the pet cemetery and the incinerator.

Since the 2015-2018 administration led by Ricardo Villareal, the construction of the hospital was announced where the center for animal control is currently located. When Luis Alberto Villareal took office it was announced that the animal hospital would include a cemetery, a hotel, an incinerator, veterinarians, and a shop for all things pet-related, unfortunately, the project was never materialized.

“ It was just like an announcement, but the project was never materialized. It was just a concept, an exciting idea that never made it down to paper after its announcement. Past administration announced that they would retake this project and I’ve seen renders of what this project will be, that fell short from the first announcement but it is now much more realistic”, Alejandro Castro stated, Environmental director.

He’s informed that as of this moment the project is in a very early stage “ What I know is that there are resources of up to 10 million pesos to finish this project and I believe it was already assigned, but it remained static, it’s unfinished and we received the building in a very poor state. Today it has been cleaned and is now operating correctly for animals that are taken there” said the official.

Castro also pointed out that the project announced by the past administration is not to be retaken, “we have a different idea, a holistic fuller approach. We will focus on finishing the building. The site that already exists will be ready in 30 days, we started working on it on Monday”.

For this renovation, one million pesos will be budgeted for electrical installation, sanitary, hydraulic, floors, walls, pressure tests for the plumbing installation, paint, leveling, doors, and windows.

“ We cannot continue with the past administration project because we are not familiarized with it, we don’t know what it was; there’s an incomplete plan from previous officers, which we intend to finish. Once the main construction is finished, we’ll do something new. The first stage will be very basic, a front lobby for citizen general inquiry, networking offices, sanitary services, safekeeping area, and veterinary spaces”, Alejandro Castro stated.

He deepened the conversation commenting on recent talks with activists where the cemetery subject has not been addressed, however, the crematory has. “ So the angle we’re aiming for is to provide this center with decent, worthy care for pets who must be put to sleep”.

He also stated that the idea for a pet hotel is there, but there is no budget for it to happen. Nevertheless, he commented that there is a possibility for next year to include this within the budget. “ We are even participating in engaging private companies so that they can offer their products”.

He assured that one of the pillars of the current administration is caring for the environment, “ we are acutely aware that there are priorities as far as the needs go, such as water, roads, etcetera, and we cannot assign resources to needs that are not a top priority, and it has been a true effort to finish this project”, he ended.