The Nonprofit Veterinarian Shortage: Who Will Care for the Pets Most in Need?

Susanne Kogut; Meredith Montgomery; Julie Levy

doi:10.56771/jsmcah.v3.75

Authors

Susanne Kogut Petco Love, San Antonio, TX, USA
Meredith L. Montgomery Veterinary Community Outreach Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8137-3949
Julie K. Levy Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4849-288X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56771/jsmcah.v3.75

Keywords:

veterinary workforce, shelter veterinarian, veterinary nurse, veterinary technician, veterinary assistant, nonprofit veterinarian, access to veterinary care, spay/neuter, animal shelter, shelter medicine, public health, dogs, cats

Abstract

Introduction: The national shortage of veterinarians, and the technicians and assistants who support them, has affected private practices, emergency and specialty clinics, agricultural practices, public health departments, and veterinary college faculty. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the veterinary workforce shortage on veterinary care provided at two types of public practice: (1) veterinary care for cats and dogs housed temporarily in animal sheltering organizations (ASOs) and (2) veterinary clinics aimed at increasing access to care for animals in the community.

Methods: A novel survey was disseminated to 333 ASOs receiving a minimum of 2,500 animals annually and 118 access to care clinics (ATCCs) that partner with or receive grants from the national animal welfare nonprofit Petco Love. Surveys included questions about staffing and vacant positions for veterinarians and veterinary support staff, current hiring efforts for veterinarians, and delays in animal care.

Results: A total of 179 ASOs completed the survey (54% response rate). Most reported being short-staffed for veterinarians (130/179; 73%) and for veterinary support staff (132/179; 74%). Of the 143 ASOs answering a question about spay/neuter surgeries, 130 (91%) reported having a backlog with a combined total of 18,648 animals awaiting surgery. A total of 57 ATCCs responded to the survey (48% response rate). Of these, 41 (72%) reported being short-staffed for both veterinarians and veterinary support staff. As a result, clients were waiting longer than usual for care at 45 clinics (79%), with delays of 2 months or more at 28 clinics (51%).

Conclusion: This study highlights the critical impact of severe veterinary workforce shortages on nonprofit organizations responsible for medical care for the most vulnerable cats and dogs. These shortages pose substantial risks to animal welfare, the human–animal bond, and public health.

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Author Biographies

Susanne Kogut, Petco Love, San Antonio, TX, USA

Susanne Kogut joined Petco Love in June 2013. In addition to now serving as the President of Petco Love, Susanne is the Vice Chair of HABRI's Board of Trustees (Human Animal Bond Research Institute). Before joining Petco Love, she served as the Charlottesville-Albemarle SPCA Executive Director, where she transformed the open-admission SPCA into an award-winning, nationally recognized lifesaving model. Prior to that, Susanne held several positions at Capital One Financial Corporation and was an attorney with Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Brown & Wood. Susanne shares her home with her pack of dogs and a variety of foster pets.

Meredith L. Montgomery, Veterinary Community Outreach Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Dr. Montgomery is a full-time Clinical Assistant Professor in the Veterinary Community Outreach Program. Dr. Montgomery is an University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine graduate and Maddie’s Shelter Medicine certificate holder. Since graduation, she completed a rotating internship at Angell Animal Medical Center and worked as a staff veterinarian at ASPCA’s Spay/Neuter Alliance and Citrus County Animal Services. Her professional interests include: High quality high volume spay neuter, access to veterinary care, infectious disease in sheltered populations, and small animal handling, stress reduction, and shelter housing.

Julie K. Levy, Shelter Medicine Program, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

Dr. Julie Levy is the Fran Marino Distinguished Professor of Shelter Medicine Education at the University of Florida, where she focuses on the health and welfare of animals in shelters, feline infectious diseases, and humane alternatives for cat population control. She founded Operation Catnip, a nonprofit university-based community cat trap-neuter-return program that has spayed, neutered, and vaccinated more than 80,000 cats in Gainesville since 1998. In 2008, she joined Dr. Cynda Crawford to found Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program at the College of Veterinary Medicine, an educational and discovery initiative with a global impact on the care of homeless animals. In 2014, she joined Dr. Kate Hurley to launch the Million Cat Challenge, a shelter-based campaign that saved more than 3.5 million cats in shelters across North America. In 2022, she helped launch Maddie’s Million Pet Challenge to create transformative “communities of practice” that deliver access to care through humane, community-centric programming—inside and outside of the shelter—to achieve the right outcome for every pet.

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