Veterinarian

The Veterinarian

These professionals are licensed medical practitioners, who diagnose, treat, and manage the health of non-human animals.

During Covid 19, pet experiences, increased human companionship, leading to reduced separation anxiety initially, but creating issues when owners returned to work.

Veterinarian Services Skyrocketed

Veterinarian services have reached an all time high, with costs rising 40-60% since 2020. That is nearly double the rate of general inflation.

Veterinarian costs have skyrocketed due to a combination of unprecedented pandemic-era pet adaption , a severe industry wide staffing shortage and increased corporate consolidation driving up prices. Costs are further fueled by inflation, higher operating expenses, advanced medical technology and the "humanization" of pets.

Key triggers for the surge in veterinarian costs and demand include:

Pandemic Pet Boom and Backlog

A surge in new pet ownership during the pandemic, coupled with delayed elective procedures, (spay/neuters), and regular checkups, created a massive backlog.

Workforce Shortages &Burnouts

A critical shortage of Veterinarians and technicians, driven by burnout and early retirements, has made it diffiuclt to meet high demand.

Corporate Consolidation

Private equity firms and large corporations have acquired a significant number of independent practices and emergency clinics, often implementing higher, profit-driven pricing models.

"Humanization" of Pets

Pet owners are increasingly willing to pay for advanced, human-like care, such as MRI's, oncology, and specialty services, which are more expensive.

Inflation & Operational Costs

Rising costs for pharmaceuticals, medical supplies, and general business expenses, (utilities, rent have directily increased veterinary fees.

Longer Pet Lifespans

As pets live longer, they require more chronic care, and frequent, expensive check ups.

Personal Experiences

We have a small dog, and one morning, we woke up to find his whole side of his face, was swollen. We immediately contacted our veterinarian, to get him an appointment to get him looked at.

She said he had an absessed tooth and it had to be pulled. In her words, "The tooth had to go!" I had gone to that veterinarian for years, but she since Covid 19, had sold her old building and bought a state of the art building, complete with a laboratory and a grooming palor, and a state of the art Animal Hospital.

There were changes in this Veterinarian's habits, that I hadn't seen before Covid 19 hit. She gave everyone a itemized list of expenses, along with the diagnosis and what had to be done.

She handed it to us, and when I looked at it, I had questions, a great deal of questions. I thought she could just lance the part of his face, that was all swelled up, because she wasn't even going to treat the infection, before she operated on our dog. Even in human beings they don't pull a tooth if it is infected.

The Vet was not available to ask questions of, which I wasn't surprised. The technician was available however, and when reading the paper, I noticed in the estimate, it said she was going to extract two teeth. I questioned him as to whether it was two teeth, or one tooth, because she only mentioned one to me. "Was it one tooth that was bad and abscessed or two teeth?"

The technician began to stammer, and said, "Okay, it was only one tooth that was abscessed, but she wanted to pull the tooth next to it, in case it bothered him also. "So let me get this straight, she wants to pull a perfectly good tooth?" He began to get very upset, and he said the Doctor will have to call you and explain it to you. The estimate for the procedure and after care was $2,000.

The next day, our dog's face was still swollen, and the phone rang, and it was the Vet's office, and this time a different technician was on the case. I figured I asked to many questions for the other technician, so he passed me off on someone that could handle me and my questions. She told me, she had an estimate, which she thought I would be very pleased with, this one was only $1200, and it was for one tooth extracted. So I asked her, so it is only one tooth that was bad. She told me, like she was scolding me, "Do I have to have the Doctor call you?" I said, I would have to talk it over with my husband, and that ended the conversation. Personally, I felt like I was scolded, like "Do I have to have the principal call you?"

The Night Before

We had trouble the night before, our darling little dog, wanted to scratch his dear little face. We prevented him from doing it before we went to bed, but apparently it itched him during the night.

The Next Morning

When we woke up, he had scratched it and lanced it himself, and the swelling was down and there was some blood and pus on his little blanket that he laid on the bottom of our bed.

The phone rang and it was the same girl technician. She said, "Have you made a decision yet, we have to get you scheduled for surgery."

I told her what had transpired, and she simply said,.............

"Do you expect me to believe that he lanced it himself ?"

What would you have replied to the technician?

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