LOS ANGELES—A surge in the number of pets adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a major increase in business at veterinary hospitals, causing longer wait times, staff shortages, and frustrated pet owners, officials from a Southland veterinary hospital company said today.
“The veterinary industry is under huge strain to meet the demand, with emergency room visits across all of our hospitals sky-rocketing,” Access Speciality Animal Hospitals Director of Operations Leah Basinais said in a statement. “Unfortunately, six- to eight-hour wait times are not unusual, and occasions when our emergency rooms reach full capacity and are unable to accept new patients are more frequent. And it’s not just our hospitals—we often get phone calls from desperate pet owners telling us we are the fifth hospital they called and that no one could take them.”
