A national veterinarian shortage is having an effect on animal shelters of all kinds – including one of the biggest animal control and adoption centers in western Massachusetts.
Each year, the Thomas J. O’Connor Animal Control & Adoption Center in Springfield houses more than 3,000 stray and abandoned animals – all while acting as the animal control facility for the city, as well as neighboring Chicopee and Holyoke.
Equipped to shelter dogs, cats and other animals like chickens, turtles and more, the center has been able to offer a number of programs and other services over the years, but last week, it announced on Facebook that it cannot “responsibly accept” animal surrenders from community members.
Heather Cahillane is the facility’s operations manager and interim executive director. She tells WAMC the root of the problem is a national matter – a shortage of veterinarians exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We lost our veterinarian back at the beginning of the year, and we've had that position posted since January,” she explained. “It remains open. We haven't had viable candidates - actually, very few applicants at all.”
Cahillane says the veterinary field is one filled with stress and often burnout, with few people entering veterinary medicine and many leaving during or after the pandemic.
A recent study conducted by Mars Veterinary Health finds up to quote "55,000 additional veterinarians will be needed to meet the needs of companion animal healthcare in the U.S. by 2030" and that a shortage of as many as 24,000 companion-animal veterinarians will "likely still exist by 2030."
Animals are still receiving the care they need, she noted. Neighboring facilities, like the Dakin Humane Society and MSCPA, have been providing support and a “relief vet” has made stops at the center.
Still, she says, to not have an in-house vet means frequently transferring animals elsewhere for care, and other consequences.
“There's an emotional toll on our staff, because certainly, we're all in this field because we love animals. We love to help - we like to help people, we like to help pets, we like to be a part of the whole thing,” Cahillane said. “So, to have animals come into the building - now they're getting transferred out, we don't get to see as many of those happy outcomes, we don't get to follow through and be part of that adoption - I think there's an emotional toll on the staff, so that's been difficult and it's just limited - we are an organization that was able to do spay/neuter vouchers, and if people from the community came and had issues, we were offering some community medicine services. We can't do that right now, so we're doing the best that we can.”
Felines have been especially affected, according to Cahillane and Animal Welfare Specialist Cyndi McMahon.
McMahon tells WAMC that TJ O’Connor’s has not been able to see anywhere near as many cats as it used to, due to the facilities’ intake limitations – unable to have more than 30 cats in the shelter on any given day, when she says the need is much higher.
Another problem, she says – being unable to take spay and neuter vouchers.
“Having this much time, of the public having difficulty receiving spaying and neutering services for their cats - the numbers of cats out there are going to grow, when we're already seeing the ones that are owned getting surrendered. So it's … kind of like the perfect storm,” she said.
Taking WAMC on a tour of the facility, Animal Control Supervisor Renee Robichaud pointed out the facility’s state-of-the-art clinic that, for the past few months, has gone underutilized.
“We have a lot of top-of-the-line equipment that we've been able to purchase through generous donors,” Robichaud said. “We have two incubators, we have an oxygen tank, we have full service X-ray, dental X-ray, ultrasound – I mean, these aren't things that municipal animal shelters usually have at their fingertips, and it's sad because, you know, we're not able to use it right now because we don't have a vet working full-time with us at this time.”
Going forward, the facility says it remains focused on getting a Shelter Veterinarian on staff. It’s also put out a call for any veterinarians interested in working “relief hours” or providing help at the shelter.
For community members, anyone considering volunteering with the shelter or fostering an animal in its care is welcome.
The center also asks people thinking about surrendering pets as stray animals to TJ O’Connor’s to reconsider. Noting the capacity situation in its Facebook post, the shelter says while strays must be held for a “legally mandated hold,” owned animals that are surrendered can be moved to shelters and other organizations more freely.
The center says it’s happy to talk with pet owners looking to surrender and offer resources.
