Veterinary appointments are getting harder to come by, with clinics facing labor shortages stemming from pandemic disruption.
Why it matters: Americans are spending more than ever on their pets, which have provided us companionship during a time of isolation.
State of play: Veterinarians say they’re suffering from burnout and offering fewer appointments per hour than pre-pandemic times due to new safety protocols.
- Vet shortages are “everywhere right now,” Susan Sholtis, president of treatment provider PetIQ, told investors in March.
- “Everybody is pushing to hire veterinarians. … They’re working 1.5 to 2 hours longer every day, and their actual productivity is down. So they’re seeing fewer pets.”
The big picture: Some 1 in 3 Americans adopted a pet in the first several months of the pandemic — and vets are getting overwhelmed dealing with the resulting demand.
- The number of monthly appointments per clinic was 1,012 in 2021, up 11% from 2019, according to VetSuccess, an analytics company.
Yes, but: Those appointments are stretched over longer periods. And pet owners — some flush with cash from wage gains, stock growth and stimulus checks — are making extra demands.
- “Clients are asking for more veterinary products and services,” according to an analysis by the […]
I want a natural dog. The shelters around here insist on getting your male dog castrated and or having a vasectomy as well as having a electronic chip put into their backs. Both of these techniques are harmful. The castration or vasectomy causes them to have dementia in their later years of their lives, and the microchips can effect their spines in a harmful way. They just do not keep up with the latest science on those subjects. I experienced it first hand when my old dog got dementia before he died. He was an old dog and had been castrated, and I saw it first hand, when he got dementia in the end before he died.
P.S.: The original scientific study was done, and it was verified by a second study which agreed 100% with the first study’s results.