Whether you have an emergency or just need routine care for your pets, Dr. Mario is here to help.
By Fern Corraini
Looking for a local vet right here in El Centenario to care for your furry friends? Need to update your dog’s vaccines, get a health certificate for your pet’s travel, or get your cat spayed? Local veterinarian Dr. Mario Galo is here to help. While his office, Clinica Veterinaria El Centenario, has been open for less than a year, Dr. Mario has already built a steady following of happy clients.
In addition to treating family pets, Dr. Mario is also making a significant contribution to the community. He is one of three vets working with the local U.S. based nonprofit, Baja Dogs La Paz, Inc. to provide free sterilization surgeries to local underserved communities. Working together, Baja Dogs and these vets have sterilized over 800 pets so far this year.
When it comes to caring for your own family pets, finding the right vet can be tricky. I hate to admit it, but my cats are spoiled. Rotten. Before they became my pampered couch potatoes guaranteed good food, warm dry shelter and regular health care, they started life out on the mean streets of El Centenario, young, defenseless, expecting nothing from this world. Now they dine on expensive catfood souffle and complain when it doesn’t get served on time. They pee in my flowerbeds, bring birds into the house and eat the tails off the geckos. And I love them unconditionally.
If you have a pet, you understand. Maybe you don’t let your Buster up on the bed or speak to Fluffy in baby talk…but most of us pet owners have one thing in common: we love our animals and want their lives to be healthy, happy and long.
Of course, there are a lot of veterinarians in the La Paz area, and everyone has their favorite. Just ask for a vet referral on one of the local Facebook groups and you’ll get plenty of passionate recommendations. For my own family furballs, I want a vet with experience and skill. Someone who keeps regular clinic hours, and who is also available in an emergency. Someone who is fanatically clean, with good equipment. Someone open to reaching out to other vets in tricky cases. Someone with a calm bedside manner who can minimize the stress of a visit to the vet. Someone who cares enough to learn my pet’s name, who keeps records and reminds me that it’s vaccination time. A doctor I can trust to care for my lovely spoiled cats as much as I do.
For me, Dr. Mario checks all the boxes. Meticulous in organization and cleanliness, he treats his clients with respect and professionalism. He is a skilled vet who cares about the welfare of every animal he sees, as well as an interesting and likable person with a sincere desire to “fix things”. For those who are new to La Paz and still struggling to learn Spanish, Dr. Mario speaks excellent English. Usually that means higher prices, but those who visit Dr. Mario’s clinic will be pleasantly surprised that his prices are very reasonable. We are lucky to have him and his clinic in our community.
Apparently El Centenario residents agree. As his business has been growing, Dr. Mario has been expanding and investing in new equipment for his clinic, including an ultrasound and a new x-ray machine. He has also expanded his team, bringing on another vet, Dr. Eric, who has a background as a wildlife veterinarian and is also fantastic with animals. Dr. Mario’s wife is also a vet, running her own clinic in the Camino Real neighborhood in La Paz, and sometimes comes into the clinic to help out. He calls her a “Crazy Cat Lady” (we are many!) and himself a “Crazy Dog Man.”
Dr. Mario says that it was clearly a geographical error that he was born in Mexico City. He corrected the error 20 years ago by moving to El Centenario where he belongs…fresh air, open spaces, his own “piece of ground”. Happy to be out of Mexico City but dissatisfied with his chosen field, he returned to university and fulfilled his youthful dream of becoming a vet.
Dr. Mario is happy to be doing what he loves best: caring for animals, and he wishes to thank the expat community for all they do to help El Centenario’s animals. He is grateful for their help in raising awareness of the importance of pet sterilization and pet owner education.
Our community is grateful to have Dr Mario here in El Centenario. Of course, he can’t solve ALL your pet problems though. Your dog will still sniff crotches, your cat will still leave furballs on the bathmat and you still won’t be able to wear black pants out in public. However, Dr. Mario will take care of your family pets as if they are his own, doing everything in his power to help them live long and healthy lives.
Contact:
- Dr. Mario Galo Ramirez de Aguilar Azpiroz
- Clinica Veterinaria El Centenario
- Carretera al Norte and Calle Leona Vicario, El Centenario
- Phone and WhatsApp: (612) 103-7440
- Facebook: Clinica Veterinaria El Centenario
- Email: mariogalo2@hotmail.com
