Vets in Pedro Juan Caballero: how to choose pet care

To choose a vet in Pedro Juan Caballero, first decide whether it is a vaccine or check-up or an emergency, then message ahead on WhatsApp with the species, weight and symptom so you know whether they can see you now. Check that the vet is registered with SENACSA, Paraguay's animal health service, and that everything goes into the pet's health booklet.

What kind of vet do you need?

A search for "veterinaria Pedro Juan Caballero" mixes very different places:

• Agroveterinaria: sells feed, dewormers, vaccines and supplies, including for farm animals, and sometimes has a consulting room. Fine for a vaccine, deworming or a simple check.
• Pet shop with a consulting room: grooming, vaccines and routine visits for dogs and cats.
• Veterinary clinic: lab tests, ultrasound, planned surgery such as neutering and, in some cases, overnight care.

For a vaccine, the nearest consulting room will do. If your animal was hit by a car, ate something toxic or struggles to breathe, go to a place with overnight care and call ahead while you travel.

How to tell a vet is properly licensed

Under Law 6810/2021 "Del Veterinario"⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠ and SENACSA Resolution 1434/21, vets must register their degree with SENACSA and renew that registration every year; renewal without surcharge is due by 31 March.

A clinic must also have a registered veterinary technical adviser, be set up as a business and hold a commercial licence⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, with its paperwork filed with SENACSA. If something goes wrong, malpractice or cruelty complaints go to SENACSA's Animal Health and Welfare Directorate or to the public prosecutor.

In practice: ask the name of the vet seeing your animal and have every vaccine recorded in the booklet with stamp, signature and date.

What to ask at night or in an emergency

Opening hours on the map may be out of date. Call or message before you set off:

• Is a vet on site now, or do they need to call one in?
• Do they treat your species and size? Cats, birds and exotics are not seen everywhere.
• Can the animal stay overnight?
• How do you pay? QR now accounts for 68.1% of electronic payments in Paraguay⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, and businesses on the Bancard network can accept Pix⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠ from Brazilian customers. Still confirm whether they take QR, Pix, transfer or only cash.

While you wait, note when the symptom started, what the animal ate and any medication. If you suspect poisoning, bring the packaging.

Leishmaniasis in Amambay

In January 2026, the Hospital Regional in Pedro Juan Caballero admitted a three-year-old with leishmaniasis, the first confirmed case in Amambay that year⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠; the hospital director linked it to the large number of dogs where the child lived.

The disease is spread by the karachã, a sandfly that Paraguayans usually just call a mosquito. According to Última Hora⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠, an infected dog cannot be cured, the disease has no specific symptoms and it can only be diagnosed by lab tests. The recommendations:

• Test your dog at least once a year.
• Use animal repellents.
• Clean the yard, especially overgrown corners with fallen fruit and rotting matter.
• Ask about the vaccine, available privately from three months of age.

Taking your pet to Brazil

Pedro Juan sits right against Ponta Porã, across Avenida Internacional Doctor Francia⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠. Dogs and cats travelling between Mercosur countries use an International Veterinary Certificate (CVI). According to Argentina's SENASA summary of the Mercosur rules⁠⁠ (opens in a new tab)⁠:

• Rabies vaccination must be current; after a first dose, at least 21 days must pass.
• A vet signs a health certificate within 10 days before the CVI.
• Internal and external deworming is done within 15 days before.
• The CVI is valid for 60 days while the rabies vaccine stays current and the animal is healthy.

Book early so the dates line up, and take the health booklet to every visit: it helps if you ever change vets.