COVID-19 has presented a unique set of challenges for veterinary clinics across the United States. If you are searching for ways to explain these challenges to your pet owners, we encourage you to utilize the blog below on your website. Feel free to edit it to meet your clinic’s unique messaging, voice, and protocols as well. We’ve also created and sourced additional graphics and flyers your clinic can utilize on our Marketing Materials. page.
Veterinary clinics across the United States are experiencing extraordinary circumstances. At the beginning of the pandemic, area shelters and rescues made the call for help adopting all their pets, and we were overwhelmed by the outpouring of support they all received – pets were adopted at amazing rates, and shelters and rescues were cleared!
Then it took time for officials to determine whether veterinary services were essential, and which of those services could be delayed and which were absolutely required to continue. In addition, pet owners waited on services like wellness care and vaccinations due to their own personal circumstances – whether uncertainty about COVID protocols, concern for their safety and exposure, job loss, or other situations.
To answer the calls for safety and to meet required guidelines, veterinary clinics enacted carside services and other protocols, all designed to keep pet owners and veterinary teams safe while still offering exceptional veterinary care. There were learning curves for everyone, and as we’ve settled into our ‘new normal’, we’ve learned that curbside service means longer appointment times and phone lines are tied up for appointments, triaging incoming patients, prescription refills, and more.
Couple these three scenarios with a severe staff shortage across the United States, and suddenly we have a perfect storm.
What Does All of This Mean?
It means that, due to all these circumstances out of our control, our appointments are booking further and further into the future. We may designate a certain number of appointments for emergencies, but these are often filled within the first few minutes of opening in the morning. Our team is working diligently to ensure each patient is well taken care of, sometimes at the expense of their own personal lunch breaks, end of shifts, days off, and more.
Like you, we are exhausted with everything to do with COVID-19. But please know we are doing everything in our power to ensure both you and your beloved pet are well taken care of. We continue to ask for your patience as we continue curbside services and ask for your kindness when calling for prescription refills or to schedule appointments.
In the end, we want to thank you. Thank you for supporting our clinic and team. Thank you for trusting us with your pet’s care. Thank you for being an amazing client of ours. We greatly appreciate you!