A nationwide veterinarian shortage has Bay Area pet owners scrambling. Vet clinics are booked almost everywhere, and patients are being prioritized even in critical cases.
Willow Glen Pet Hospital had seven staff members before the pandemic. Now, they have 14 and it’s still not enough, saying they’re having to turn patients away almost weekly.
Dr. Rajbir Gillon and his staff examine about 45 pets each day, more than double the number they had two years ago.
“We’re not able to accommodate all the clients and pets that need to be seen and we are seeing a lot of frustration with the clients,” he said.
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Research shows some 23 million households adopted a pet during the pandemic without many new veterinarians joining the ranks.
Which just added stress to what was already a vet shortage across the nation.
“Sometimes we’ll refer patients to emergency clinics and they are so short staffed that they have to in turn refer them to other emergency clinics,” said Gillon.
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Other pet clinics said they’re experiencing the same thing.
“We’re completely booked pretty much every day,” said Katie Cihla, vet tech at Oak Grove Vet Hospital.
That hospital has been looking for help for two years now and being short staffed has forced them to cancel or postpone surgeries.
And during emergencies clients, they’ve had to refer patients elsewhere.
“We are pretty fare pricing and I know if you go to emergency that can be upward of an additional thousands of dollars,” said Cihla.
That can be a financial burden for pet owners -- if they manage to get an appointment at all.
Many clinics have started prioritizing patients.
“If they haven't been eating for a couple of days that’s definitely something urgent, if they have a significant injury that needs to be addressed right away,” said Gillon.
Experts blame the shortage on a lack of vet schools, along with the high cost of becoming a vet, and then maintaining a practice.
“People don't want to get out of school with $300,000 worth of debt,” said veterinarian Dr. Leroi Boldon.
Plus, many vets are retiring early due to their challenging career.
“You know the pets are part of your family,” said Boldon.
