Sarah Flynn carries her very reluctant Corgi-cross named Frank to Nanaimo’s Petroglyph Animal Hospital, anxious about her aging dog’s new lumps and bumps.
“I’m worried, I’m worried about him,” Flynn told CHEK News on Monday. “I wish I could go in with him.”
It’s an emotional exchange that workers at the animal hospital make dozens of times each day, all while fielding non-stop calls from people trying to get their pets in — many of them newly adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have a waitlist of 100 pets that we’re still waiting to try to get in just for spay and neuter,” said Petroglyph Animal Hospital manager, Erica Boulet.
Veterinary care workers say they are under immense pressure right now as the province’s ongoing veterinarian shortage has only been magnified by the pandemic. With more people having adopted pets in the last year due, limited appointments stretched between long-term clients, pets in pain and new clients, Boulet says turning people away is heartbreaking and taking a toll on workers.
“You’re disappointing somebody who wants to help their pet,” said Boulet.
It is so busy at the Petroglyph Animal Hospital that staff bring their own pets into the clinic on the off chance there’s a cancellation, so they can get them seen instead of adding to the waiting list.
Boulet says veterinary care has reached a crisis point, much like the family doctor shortage that so many people have been facing.
“There is a major professional shortage and every vet hospital feels it,” she said.
The Canadian Veterinary Medical Association says there are only about 10,000 veterinarians nationwide, with the greatest shortfall is in British Columbia, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.
“We’re not the only ones who are busy, it’s across Canada,” said Dr. Sylvia Hall Andrews, a veterinarian at Petroglyph Animal Hospital. “I was talking to a veterinarian in Nova Scotia and she was saying the busy-ness since COVID came down has just been across the board.”
According to the City of Nanaimo, 8,849 dog licenses alone were issued up to Jan. 25 — a nearly 25 percent increase from 2019.
That has staff at the clinic asking people to have patience during these busy times.
“We just ask for patience,” said Boulet. “That’s really all we ask for.”
With files from CBC
Skye Ryan
