Dr. Nalinika accompanied her father, an anthropologist, on his field study visits to remote areas where she often picked up sick and injured animals – rabbits, birds, and dogs – and brought them home. Two local veterinarians provided care for the various animals, sparking Dr. Nalinika’s interest in the field. She and her family moved to the United States thereafter, where she graduated with a degree in Wildlife and Fisheries Biology from UC Davis. She decided to pursue a Veterinary degree after returning to Sri Lanka in 1985. Upon graduation, she joined the University of Peradeniya’s Faculty of Veterinary Science as an Assistant Lecturer. Here she met two fellow Assistant Lecturers who also expressed interest in starting a groundbreaking progressive & dynamic veterinary clinic. Pet Vet Clinic was born in 1996. Today, Pet Vet Clinic is an accredited internship training centre for the university. In 2003, the directors of Pet Vet Clinic established Blue Paw Trust which provides free/low cost services focused on national dog population control and the eradication of rabies. Together with colleagues, she also established the Society of Companion Animal Practitioners (SCAP) in 2003 of which she was the Past President and where she now holds the designation of Director of Education. SCAP provides Sri Lankan veterinary practitioners with continued learning opportunities and currently organizes short seminars and training programs by inviting internationally certified practitioners to present lectures and workshops in their areas of specialty. Dr. Nalinika has completed the Distance Learning International Certificate in Small Animal Practice through Murdoch University, Australia, in 2011 and completed the Masters course, also offered by the University in 2013. Capitalizing on Sri Lanka’s large stray animal population, Dr. Nalinika proposes to train street dogs as seeing-eye dogs, companion dogs, and therapy dogs. She intends on facilitating placements of therapy dogs for differently abled children and trained dogs as companions for older people. Her efforts extend to the animal care industry, where she is working to set up kennel, grooming, and other auxiliary services that can provide new youth employment opportunities. Dr. Nalinika‘s long-term goal is to establish a full-service clinical teaching institute that will bring together SCAP’s professional education efforts, the Pet Vet clinic, and the Blue Paw Trust, and upgrade the overall quality of companion animal medicine in Sri Lanka.
Nalinika Obeyesekere
Founder of the Pet Vet Clinic (Colombo, Sri Lanka)
