09/23/2021
This is info from the US but similar things are happening here in Canada. Please be kind and patient to your vet.
As of 2021 there are now 183,000,000 pets (dogs and cats) owned in the US.
In 2018 there were 135,000,000.
Our country added FOURTY EIGHT MILLION patients to our profession in 3 years.
In 2018 there were 113,394 veterinarians.
In 2021 there ARE 118,624 plus our dedicated techs and assistants who are floundering under this burden.
Our profession has added 5,320 doctors. That is ONE doctor for every 1000 animals.
Let me say that again: that is ONE DVM PER 1000 patients.
YOU DO THE MATH. If you’re frustrated you cannot get in with your pet, if you’re mad about wait times at ANY vet’s office, if you’re feeling your pet is not getting the attention it deserves, it’s not. Because we can’t. WE CANNOT. Our profession CANNOT statistically support this rate of expansion at this time, in this country. PERIOD.
We are trying. We are drowning. This is inhuman and our profession is imploding.
Think about it, human hospitals are not able to handle the sheer magnitude of the sick human population during COVID.
And WE (veterinary medicine) are not able to handle how may pets were adopted (or more often) PURCHASED during the COVID pandemic.
This will not go away. These pets will live normal long lives (most of them) and so our profession will not be out of this for over a decade. If you think this “crazy wait time” will subside with the country wide pandemic, think again. There are only so many vet schools. Only so many new veterinary doctors. And endless patients out there…
Please THINK about that before you berate us. Yell at us. Get frustrated with us. Tell us we don’t care about your pet. Please think about that before you decide now is a good time to buy a dog or a cat.
Please think about that when that exhausted veterinary nurse comes to bring your pet inside and you have to wait hours to talk to the doctor. One doctor for every 1000 patients. This is a cry for help and compassion. From the trenches.
Want to help? Be kind. Be patient. Be understanding.
Help us. 💜
(Copied from a friend who copied from a friend)