Local vet says there was burnout during the pandemic and a lot of veterinary providers shuttered their practices or dropped down to part-time hours of operation
By Jolene Cleaver
Do you feel like finding a veterinarian to care for your pet is harder than doing your taxes?
Well, you are not alone. Area pet owners and care providers agree.
For Mohawk Valley area veterinarians like Evan Sandler, an owner of CNY Veterinary Medical Services in Westmoreland, the struggle is real.
“There’s definitely a shortage across the country,” he said.
According to a 2024 survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association, 82 million United States households own a pet.
Included in that total is a boost in the double-digit millions that Sandler and fellow veterinarians confirm was a product of the COVID-19 pandemic, as pet adoptions during that time rose dramatically.
However, due to that and a number of other factors, many pet owners are now scrambling to establish veterinary care for their pets.
In a recent Facebook thread discussing veterinary care in the Mohawk Valley region, Ally Priore Quigley posted, “I have one, but finding someone for emergency situations feels near impossible. Everyone refers you to Syracuse or Ithaca in those cases, which is a long drive in situations where every second counts.”
“I have a vet, but it’s hard to get a normal day appointment when your pet is sick,” wrote another commenter, Kelly Mallery Vineall.
Overhead and workload
In examining issues being faced by the pet care industry, Sandler offered the anecdote that it’s known in professional circles that there was burnout during the pandemic and a lot of veterinary providers shuttered their practices or dropped down to part-time hours of operation.
“Right now about 79% [of veterinarians] are working full-time,” he said, speaking of averages.
This kind of situation is causing many veterinarians to work longer hours and not accept new patients.
Echoing Sandler’s statements, veterinarians in the Mohawk Valley reported sentiments like, “being slammed with patients non-stop” leading them to simply being “not able to accept new patients at this time. … definitely get vaccines done at pet clinics like at Tractor Supply… It’s not ideal, but it is what we are advising as a solution.”
“It’s going to take us years to get back to normal,” Sandler said during a recent interview.
“I can’t remember the last time I worked less than 60 hours per week,” he added.
Sandler graduated from veterinary school in 2005 and by 2011, he and his wife, veterinarian Heather Sandler, launched CNY Veterinary Medical Services.
Now, he often has days where he sees 20-30 patients per day.
On a recent Thursday, which is his surgery day, he had completed seven surgical procedures by 2:30 p.m. With these jam-packed days, he maximizes every free minute to catch up on patient consult emails, phone calls and text messages.
“My goal in life is to make enough money to pay the bills,” Sandler said.
However, Sandler has more to worry about than just himself. There are more than 30 employees at his practice. He is always on the lookout for more help, he added.
In addition to a greater pet to care staff ratio, prices have gone up on medicines and necessary equipment and tools for clinics. “Inflation has hit us quite hard,” Sandler said, noting that the cost of medical supplies has risen.
He pointed out that one issue facing veterinarians fresh out of college right now is that they can expect to make just above the national salary average — but they are graduating with about $160,000 in educational debt.
With pay for veterinarians often based on patient volume, graduates are gravitating toward larger markets or employment situations where there are larger sign-on bonuses.
“It definitely takes a specific person to do this work. It’s not a 9 to 5 job,” he said. “But I love what I do. This is the only field I have wanted to work in since I was 6 years old.”
Impacts
Tim Atkinson, executive director of the New York State Veterinary Medical Society, a nonprofit, professional member advocacy association, said the issue is not simple and not just limited to the Mohawk Valley or New York state.
“There are actually a variety of factors contributing to the current shortage of veterinarians. It’s a generally recognized problem,” across the United States, he said, adding that the current issue stretches farther back than a COVID-19-era pet adoption boom.
He said there are data collections that point to a steady growth of yearly pet ownership figures in this country, tallying a starting point of about 35 million existing pets in 1991 and reaching 60 million this year.
“That’s quite a tremendous growth over 30 years,” he said.
An analysis of veterinary service trends published in the Journal of American Veterinary Medical Association in November, estimated the existing educational infrastructure would meet demand in the United States for the next 10 years, barring major disruptions.
However, the study noted that while the pandemic created industry shifts, as society has returned to normal from the depths of the pandemic, “the likelihood of longer-term [veterinary] shortages is remote,” the authors concluded.
Solutions
To be proactive, Sandler advised those that are adding a new pet to their family to get veterinary care lined up before bringing the pet home in order to avoid scrambling to secure care.
Also, many veterinarians are leaning on vaccine clinics being hosted at retail spots such as Tractor Supply to take the scheduling burden off veterinary providers for simple care such as vaccines, microchipping, deworming and other basic services.
Further, Atkinson said work is being done to open more veterinary education programs.
In addition to New York’s standard bearer Cornell University, Long Island University recently launched a veterinary science program. The College of Veterinary Medicine’s inaugural graduating class walked the stage this past May. Accredited in 2019, the college “filled an industry void as one of only four vet schools in the Northeast,” according to a statement.
Elsewhere in the United States, Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences is in the process of developing a degree program for this Master’s of Veterinary Clinical Care. It would be comparable to a student earning a degree that would be a rough equivalent to a nurse practitioner-style accreditation, except for veterinary care.
There’s also a lack of veterinary technicians, not just veterinarians, Atkinson said. But there may be a way to fix that such as devising ways to lure back those who have recently left the field.
TOP IMAGE: Vet Evan Sandler checks over a cat at CNY Veterinary Medical Services in Westmoreland. (Photo by Jolene Cleaver)