Veterinarians need to join together

Because of a veterinary staffing shortage resulting from the pandemic, in July Valley Oak closed their overnight services. After 9 p.m. pet owners must take their pets to Sacramento. I cannot tell you how terrifying this is for someone who considers pets to be family members. Over the years my pets have had emergencies that were so life threatening that a 90 minute drive would have meant certain death. Before Emergency Vets came into being, veterinarians took turns taking calls. They understood their responsibility to the community was to make sure the animals were taken care of.

When the announcement was made that Valley Oak was closing @ 9 p.m. I figured the logical step would be that the vets would once again take turns being on call. I realized the logistics would take a little time, but this has not happened. I just learned from a local veterinarian there is no such plan in the works. I am horrified!

Enloe has also been impacted by the pandemic and the Camp Fire. However they haven’t stopped providing services. Pet owners feel their pet’s lives are just as important. It is quite likely that at least one animal in Butte County has already died because they did not get the care they needed.

There are more than 55 veterinarians in Butte County. If each of them took one night every six weeks our pets would not be dying.

Maybe there is more to the story … I hope so, however at this point it seems like no one cares.

— Linda Calbreath, Chico