WEST SENECA, N.Y. — 2 On Your Side is taking a look into the local impacts of the shortage in veterinarians – which is a national issue.
On Thursday night, we reported on how a local veterinary medical center says the issue is resulting in verbal abuse toward staff and the Erie County SPCA says they've had to make changes as well.
Because of the shortage in veterinarians, leaders at Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center say there aren't many open appointments for pets in need of care. And that, heightened emotions from clients is resulting in verbal abuse toward staff.
"To have clients screaming at them and yelling at them and having unrealistic expectations, it's emotionally draining," said Allison Raffaele, the hospital administrator at Orchard Park Veterinary Medical Center.
Orchard Park Police confirm they have responded nine times over the past year for, responding to complaints of unruly behavior.
The medical center has put up signs asking people to be respectful.
At the Erie County SPCA, because of a lack of staff, including veterinarians, the SPCA is no longer accepting new clients at its veterinary clinic, instead only serving existing patients.
"Our focus has been seeing clients and getting their preventative services in line so we can continue to have healthy pets living in our community," said Melanie Rushforth, vice president of Veterinary Services for the SPCA Serving Erie County.
The SPCA says its heard from pet owners disappointed, even angry that they have to go somewhere else.
"People don't like to be told no and especially when it comes to their pet these are these individuals children and when a pet is sick or it's hurting that's a tough time to be looking for care," Rushforth said.
And just to be clear, the SPCA is still accepting animals at its shelter.
The SPCA says it's being realistic about what it can offer.
"We know what we are capable of doing and that is really offering incremental care to our patients and we're leaving the sick, injured emergency care to the clinics that are best suited to do that," Rushforth said.
Because of the shortage in veterinarians, the SPCA tells us it's really unsure when new clients will be accepted here at the veterinary clinic. The SPCA has posted information regarding the situation on its website.