Bay Area veterinary clinics strained amid staffing shortages

CONCORD, Calif. - A shortage of veterinarians and vet techs across the country is causing many Bay Area clinics to reduce hours or change operations.

Some pet owners know how challenging it is to schedule care as they deal with long wait times.

Kathy King drove from Mountain View to Concord to drop off her dog Brogan at Sage Veterinary Centers. Brogan has a heart condition and needs to be checked every six to nine months. She was lucky to snag an appointment.

"We came all the way up to Concord to see a specialist, a cardiologist," King said. "In fact I got in here on a cancellation. I was looking at a couple months to get  in."

Dr. Lissa Richardson at Sage Concord said they have been able to maintain their 24 hour emergency services, but there is strain on regular appointments. She attributes the vet shortage across the country to a number of reasons —  vets have a high burn out rate and many are rethinking their work-life balance. Some are choosing to do drop-in work at several locations instead of committing to full time work at one clinic.

In addition, there are not enough doctors and nurses graduating our of vet school.

"We have openings for internal medicine, surgery, cardiology, neurology, oncology… and ER doctors," Richardson said. "We could use another six ER doctors in this facility alone."

Dr. Jennifer Scarlett, President of San Francisco SPCA, said the estimate of the shortage is 3,000 to 5,000 vets nationally. That number is expected to grow to 14,000 by the year 2030.

"What this equates to is the roughly 75 million animals won’t receive the car they need not because they can’t afford but because of the provider shortage," Scarlett said.

The pandemic has only made the problem worse. Many pet owners delayed checkups and vaccinations. Now almost every clinic is struggling to keep up with the demand, while working under COVID safety protocols that have put a strain on efficiency.

Some facilities, like Berkeley Dog & Cat Hospital, are transitioning from 24 hour emergency services to urgent care hours. Their boarding facility will close and they will stop providing services to exotic animals in mid-December.

In some cases, clinics have closed down.

"The instant one neighboring facility goes down or their wait times are so long that people are calling around, we feel the increased flow here.," Richardson said. "I’ve been a vet for 35 years now and it’s the most intense time to keep teams together and keep morale up."

Scarlett and Richardson agree there is light at the end of the tunnel, but are unclear when relief will come. Scarlett noted that there needs to be more advocacy for vets to be matriculated into the profession and clinics must innovate and change the way they practice until then.

Due to the long wait times, pet owners are asked to stay on top of medications and regular checkup appointments for their animals.