Pets may need to wait weeks, months for care amid US veterinarian shortage

Ojai, California – America is running short on veterinarians — and that could lead to problems for pets.

A recent study by Mars Veterinary headquartered in Vancouver, Washington shows that by the year 2030, there could be 15,000 fewer vets than needed to care for pets nationwide.

It’s common these days for people to schedule an appointment for their pets — and then wait weeks, if not months, for their animals to be seen. 

This goes for both general and urgent care needs.

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“Especially since COVID, I’ve never seen emergency rooms have to turn people away, and in these cases, they don’t always have a veterinarian on staff in the emergency room because of shortages,” said Dr. Christina Sisk, Humane Society of Ventura County’s director of veterinary services in California.

Forty-seven states are facing some sort of veterinarian shortage, and the high cost of vet school doesn’t help the case.

“Most vets are graduating with about $160,000 in student loans,” said Sisk.

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“Once they graduate, they want to start repaying those loans, and so they’re going to look for more lucrative jobs in cities and things like that. Working at municipal shelters and nonprofits are not going to be nearly as lucrative as private practice.”

Sisk was the only vet at her Humane Society location for several years until last autumn.

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“Last fall, the board of directors said, ‘We need to be a bigger part of the solution, so let’s hire another vet if we can,’” said Humane Society of Ventura County executive director Eric Knight.

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The shelter is also sending workers into the community to offer low-cost vaccinations to animals.

“When you talk about barriers to access to veterinary care, the first thing that comes to mind [is] finance — which is very important, but you’re also talking about geography,” said Knight.

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“While we are close to some large populations, we’re a little bit further from others,” he also said.

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The Humane Society says that teaching the community to be a part of the solution by getting their pets spayed and neutered can help lower the demand for vet services. 

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