No other role is more critical right now for the ARL than that of a veterinarian. Unfortunately, this is also the situation most shelters find themselves in at the exact same moment.

The United States is experiencing a national veterinary shortage and according to a recent study spearheaded by Petco Love and the Shelter Medicine Program at the University of Florida, it is having an especially large impact on animal shelters and nonprofit veterinary clinics. The study found that 73% of animal sheltering organizations reported being short-staffed for veterinarians. The repercussions are significant, with 91% of these organizations experiencing backlogs in spay/neuter surgeries.

The ARL has been no stranger to these repercussions. Since December of 2023, our organization has been operating with one part-time veterinarian to service the 5,000+ animals that enter our doors every day; in addition to the 4,000 animals we service through our low cost public spay and neuter clinic for the public. Like many hospitals and shelters, we have begun supplementing our veterinary efforts with wonderful relief vets, but even with that support, we were still forced to close our low cost spay/neuter clinic for owned pets for months – primarily only servicing shelter pets and feral cats.

This shortage has put a significant strain on our operations, and with more and more private veterinary offices experiencing the same hardship, the need will only grow for affordable services in Berks County. So much of what we do is impacted by a veterinarian. The obvious impact are those animals that need a spay/neuter surgery, but it also impacts how quickly pets can move through the system as they await health checks before they can move on to their next step in the process. The longer pets stay with us, the more stressed they become, and the whole system backs up as a result.

We recently put out a call to all local vets, inviting them to partner in some way with the ARL. That could look like relief work, discounted services at their own hospitals, volunteering their time for vaccine clinics, and so much more. If you take your pets to a local vet, advocate that they get involved in shelters who are in desperate for their skillset. If you yourself have some time, we are looking for volunteers in our surgical center to help with both administrative and medical tasks that require little to no experience in veterinary medicine. This issue has no real end in sight, and if you are unable to help with the above ways, we simply ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate this difficult time in our industry.