Ontario pet owners struggling to find animal care amid shortage of vets
CBC
When one of Sarah Bennett's Great Danes suffered a minor injury while playing in the neighbourhood dog park last year, the vet told her it was nothing a few stitches wouldn't fix.
But nobody at the clinic was available to do it, so Bennett had to take care of the cut herself.
"That is something that I have been fit in for in years past," Bennett told CBC Toronto.
The clinic she has taken her dogs to for the past seven years also used to be open 24 hours a day, giving her peace of mind if something went wrong with her pets. But now, it's open just eight hours a day.
Stories like Bennett's are becoming increasingly common in Ontario Veterinarians and animal clinic owners in the province say they're dealing with staffing shortages partly because of rising demand due to the pandemic.
"We have seen a huge rise in pet ownership over the last few years, especially since the start of the pandemic when people found themselves at home and looking for comfort," said Dr. Matthew Richardson, president-elect of the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association.
"Just like human medicine, we are seeing veterinarians as front-line workers and they're experiencing higher than normal rates of burnout."
He says five years ago, it was possible to get your pet in for non-emergency care on the same day, or maybe the next. Now, he says, people are waiting longer. Even emergency clinics are having a hard time keeping up and rely on triaging cases.
"It can be a real challenge and a stressful experience," said Richardson.
Dr. Scott Bainbridge, a veterinarian and clinic owner, says he has first-hand experience when it comes to burnout.
"I walked in here this morning, two emergencies in the exam room in the back, both have oxygen, my vets are full on," Bainbridge said in an interview at Dundas West Animal Hospital, the clinic he co-owns in west-end Toronto.
"There is not an empty appointment in the clinic here today and I know we will all be trying to squeeze stuff in," he said.
Bainbridge says to book a general exam now, clients are waiting three to four weeks. He says he can no longer take on new patients because his workload is so heavy.
He says clinics are also struggling to retain staff and he believes the internet is playing a role in that.
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