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An empty parking lot at the Alpine Animal Hospital in Coeur d’Alene. Many local veterinary clinics have stopped scheduling non-emergency appointments to preserve medical equipment for human hospitals.
JENNIFER/PASSARO Press
Veterinarians throughout the country have reduced animal care services to preserve personal protective equipment for human health hospitals.
VCE River City Animal Hospital in Post Falls has served Kootenai County since 2004. The animal hospital will provide only essential emergency care for pets in a life-or-death situation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It's not about us not wanting to care for your dog. We have to preserve personal protective equipment for human patients,” said Dr. Brian Luce, one of the four veterinarians at River City Animal Hospital.
The animal hospital has had to furlough some of its workforce. Their revenue is down approximately 60%, Luce said. Luce usually works four days per week, but since the stay-at-home order has worked one day per week.
Luce said many people don’t realize that veterinarians wear all the same equipment as human doctors.
The American Veterinary Medical Association has offered guidance on how veterinarians can preserve PPE, but cannot enforce regulations. It is up to each state to decide how essential veterinary services are. In Idaho, they are deemed essential.
About 75% of practicing veterinarians are members of the American Veterinary Medical Association. A large portion of those 95,000 members are small business owners. The AVMA is advocating for them at the federal level to help ensure relief programs will be available for their businesses.
Dr. Melanie Bowden provides relief veterinary services in Idaho, Washington and Oregon.
“I’ve lost all my contracts for the next six weeks,” Bowden said. “Clients want to come in, but we’re having to turn them away. It’s not appropriate. Personal protective equipment needs to be saved for human health care workers.”
Rathdrum Animal Clinic won’t be scheduling any new elective surgical procedures or wellness services until after May 4. Almost all existing appointments will be conducted without the pet owner being present. A technician will retrieve the animal from the parking lot.
Luce said it’s important to ensure pets have good nutrition and proper care at home. River City Animal Hospital offers telemedicine to help owners determine if a pet is in critical condition.
“Some owners overplay and some underplay,” Luce said. “It is in everyone’s best interest to keep common sense intact.”
He said there’s little veterinarians can do at the moment to change the current situation.
“It's important for pet owners to think: Is this essential or non-essential?” said Michael San Filippo, spokesperson for AMVA.
San Filippo encouraged pet owners to call their veterinarian ahead of scheduled or emergency appointments to learn the clinic’s COVID-19 procedure. He also dispelled myths that pets can transmit the virus.
“The likelihood that germs could live on fur is minimal,” San Filippo said. “Typically, germs do better on smooth, nonporous surfaces. Pet fur is not a good conduit for viruses.”