Christ Yoder
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If you’ve recently tried to get your pet to a vet, you know it can take weeks to get an appointment due to the nationwide shortage of vets.
Part of the reason for this shortage is that a high number of people adopted animals during the pandemic, but it is also in part because vets and veterinary technicians have a high rate of burnout.
Many vets earn less than half of the amount paid by doctors, despite the high cost of training.
“The liability is extremely high when you go out as a licensed veterinarian,” said Ashlee Sprague, vice chair of the board of directors of Priceless Pets. “The work is extremely hard, the hours are long, the pay is not incredible.”
The shortage of vets leads to overcrowding in shelters, as animals cannot be adopted until they are spayed or neutered.
“You envision it taking around six to eight weeks for a regular checkup for your personal veterinarian, let alone a shelter animal,” said Shelley Fonglesong, vice chair of the board of directors at Upland Animal Shelter.
At Priceless Pets in Chino Hills, the only full-time vet is struggling to keep up with demand.
“It’s very frustrating,” Sprague said. “We are already a low cost clinic, so we are a lot of people’s last resort before returning pets to the shelter for medical problems.”
Some pet owners who are unable to find cheap veterinary services resort to abandoning their animals.
“So they will either choose the cheaper alternative which is unfortunately euthanasia, or turn it into a shelter,” Sprague said. “They will let him go like a stray animal … Unfortunately, this only increases the number of animals received in shelters and more and more pets are being euthanized. This is a big problem.”
She added that pet owners can help by keeping their pets healthy with diet and exercise, and not clogging veterinary clinics with minor issues.
“Don’t come in to cut nails or clean ears, things that can be taken care of elsewhere,” Sprague said.
If you don’t mind waiting a few weeks for a shelter animal to be spayed or neutered, you can help ease the burden at shelters by embracing NBCLA and Telemundo’s Clear the Shelters campaign, until September 19 . And if you can’t adopt, consider donating to your local shelter.
