When was the last time you needed to take a dog to the veterinarian after regular business hours – you know, in an emergency? In the past few years alone, I’ve taken dogs (foster and my own) to the closest hospital providing 24-hour emergency services at least a half dozen times, for a puppy with a suspected broken leg (it wasn’t), a puppy with an injured eye (remember Odin? He eventually had to have the eye removed, despite prompt and lengthy treatment), and several times for my dog Woody, who has had after-hours treatment for lots of things.
NOTHING happens to Woody during regular hours! He’s needed stitches (cut his back legs on something while skidding to a stop playing fetch), swallowed a small tennis ball (they made him vomit it up), had a suspected bloat (he had gotten into the foster Great Dane puppies’ food and ate way too much, but was able to start pooping and get relief while we waited for service), and one night, he tanked with a sudden fever and vomiting and diarrhea (not sure what that was, but he was hospitalized overnight on fluids and antibiotics and recovered).
It’s been a couple of years since he’s needed emergency care – KNOCK WOOD – but if you have an accident-prone dog like Woody, take note: Many veterinary hospitals who ordinarily provide 24-hour, emergency services have begun suspending those emergency hours and overnight service. In my area alone, the closest three hospitals I could take a dog or puppy to in the middle of the night have suspended overnight service indefinitely. All three are citing staffing shortages as the reason for this. If something happened to my dog tonight, I’d be driving about 80 miles to the closest emergency vet hospital still operating overnight – and, presumably, so would a lot of other people whose hospitals did the same. The domino effect here, alone, is terrifying to ponder, with so many cases flowing to a few concentrated emergency-care providers.
I was first alerted to this by a friend who forwarded an email that one of her training clients had received from the emergency care provider in our area, stating that the hospital was closing at 9p.m., and no longer available for emergency care until 7 a.m. Since my trainer friend also provides boarding services, and needs to be able to take clients’ dogs for care in case of an emergency, she started calling around to see if the next closest emergency-care providers were available. That’s when she discovered that two more had followed suit and suspended their overnight emergency services. All three hospitals are citing staffing shortages as the reason for the suspension.
Shortly after I learned this, I saw an article (linked here) posted on a friend’s Facebook page, discussing the suspension of emergency veterinary services by a BluePearl Pet Hospital in North Seattle. Several friends of my California friend commented that the same thing was happening in their towns – in Colorado, New Jersey, Oregon …
So, just a heads-up: It might be worth a call to whatever veterinary hospital you usually go to in case of an overnight emergency, to check to see if they are still providing service after regular business hours. If they are not, it’s better to know now, so you’d know where to go in case of an actual emergency without a last-minute panic.
And also: Has this happened in your area? If so, please post a comment here.
I am tired of vet and vet personnel defending these “pauses” in care What you are doing is refusing care and that is immoral and wrong.
I worked on hospice for 10 years. All my patients died and I worked under stress all the time. So no excuses
I live on the Olympic Peninsula in WA and all the vet clinics here have stopped emergent and after hours services. We will have to travel about 1.5 hours in an emergency but they, too, have suspended at times, if staffing is short. I would pay monthly to have a concierge service just to have access when needed! It’s very concerning for all of us who love and care for our animals.
In MD and same problem. We have 2 dedicated emergency hospitals still open 24/7 but most other vet clinics are operating on reduced hours and some aren’t accepting walk in emergencies even during their open hours anymore. Result at the emergency clinics is you drop your dog off and they’re triaged then put in a cage and (allegedly/hopefully) monitored until they can be seen by a vet in order of issue severity. Which could be a 6+ hour wait. You cannot wait with them, so they are hurt/sick/suffering and alone, absolutely heartbreaking.
A lot of our vet clinics used to offer 24 hour care — if you had an after hours emergency you phoned in, an answering service took the call and contacted the vet, who then called you back and, if necessary, met you at the clinic. That no longer is the case. We have 3 emergency clinics (Ottawa, Ontario) which serve a very large area and are not well staffed. In June I took my dog in on a Saturday afternoon (she had ripped her leg on something in the woods and needed stitches) and no one even looked at her for 17 hours!! (I was sitting in the parking lot because the covid restrictions prevent owners from entering the hospital.)
This happened in Walla Walla, Washington. We can barely get in at any of our local vets during Banker’s hours and most of our emergencies are outside of those times. We have to drive one hour to the nearest 24 hour vet. Once we get to that vet the wait time is long because they are so busy from people being sent to them. I know three people who have lost their pets due to the drive to try and save them.
In Anchorage, AK we have 2 24/7 ER, but the wait time at both is at least 5 hours. Signs at both indicating poor behavior towards staff will result in being banned from hospital. I used to have one of the ER as my regular vet as well – only 2 miles away – was perfect. About a month ago took kitty with UTI & was told to go to other clinic, they were still trying to clean up from the morning. I realized that this is what many people were going through early in the pandemic trying to get help for their loved ones, being turned away at hospital. I had never wanted to use VCA, but only place I could find acupuncture after previous vet retired, so have now moved my entire ‘family’ over there. I will count my blessings as well after reading many of these stories!
Yes, this scenario is the same in the areas in and around Los Angeles – I read in a prominent dog journal that Americans have added dogs to their families at an alarming rate in the recent year and this is the reason for vet doctor shortages – vet friends of mine have reiterated to me their non-stop schedules since COVID – and those who own hospitals can find no new/added staff – the existing vet offices and hospitals are just over whelmed not counting the added hours needed for cleanliness protocols – added efforts of car service still in place here in LA – and staff calling out sick or just moving due to COVID related concerns/ financial issues, etc. Current events are regretfully and horribly effecting our furry loved ones…
We are fortunate here to have a VCA clinic that has been open for emergencies 24/7 since the “pandemic”. My long time vet (Nancy Isbel, the best I ever knew) retired in May, just when my girl got bad. None of the other doctors at that practice met my criteria or had a clue. They looked (and acted) like high school kids. ” YAY! no owners to deal with”. It was a painful process. $$$$$$$ of diagnostics, specialists, no diagnosis. She faded.
so I looked elsewhere. VCA clinic in Silverdale, WA, was responsive and compassionate and despite the Covid restrictions on Nov. 10 we were able to help Morgan cross the rainbow bridge with a caring doctor, my husband and myself helping to ease the transition. She was very weak so they gently carried her, wrapped her in a blanket, In a private room, very calm. We were with her.
An aside:
Do not normally use corporate anything, but this VCA hospital seems OK.
I have health insurance for my remaining rescue dog, but none for me or my husband (priorities, and screw the ACA which is anything BUT for those of us who pay the bills).
Seems vets and staff are underrated and under appreciated. You make all the difference.
Anita, you are special to not cave in to the man and corporate, Bless you. You, and all who care for our beloved pets
are magnificent.
Even my regular vet practice wouldn’t see her for 2 weeks for a UTI.
Expensive, a long wait, but caring staff. Had to have my girl treated there on several occasions. Ended up taking her over the rainbow bridge with the help of a very compassionate doctor
The AVMA and state VVMAs have either not seen the problem developing (too few doctors has been a problem for a few years) or they haven’t been proactive about lobbying for increasing student capacity (or are having faculty staffing problems themselves). The veterinary colleges are not keeping pace with demand, which needs to be met by our state governments who may or may not be aware of the problem. Too many new practices being open, many by non-veterinarians and corporate groups, who see this as a good financial investment, and are diluting the available pool of available doctors. Maybe some because doctors wanting to work normal or shorter hours for quality of life?
We went from a busy 2 & 1/2 doctor practice to a 1 & 1/4 doctor practice and will soon be a one doctor practice. We are open 50+ hours a week with no time for even a short vacation for the doctor to refresh without hiring costly relief docs. We had to close Saturdays knowing the EC was open, but now there is not always a doctor available. It is hard to get schedule every patient and there are multiple daily “drop off” patients to fill the gap. We would be so happy to hire 2 more doctors here. It is very hard to fit every patient in and we don’t have the luxury of sending critical patients to 24 hour facilities on a regular basis. It’s very frustrating. We are all working very hard to keep up. This is a nationwide problem and it has been ongoing for a few years, reaching a more critical level now. Many regular veterinary practices are having great difficulty finding doctors, as are the emergency practices. Please be pro-active and contact your state and federal representatives to lobby for additional spaces in veterinary colleges. An article said that they are turning away 19% of qualified candidates. Support your local private practices. Be kind, know that many are overworked and doing the best they can. We need your help. Letters, phone calls, emails, prayers, etc. Thank you.
Thank you for alerting me to the closure of many 24-hour emergency hospitals. I just checked my local Veterinary Emergency Hospital in Meredith, NH. Thankfully they are still open M-F from 5 P.M. through 8:00 A.M. and 24 hours a day on Saturday and Sunday. I have used their services several times over the years.