COVID 19 has presented all of us with challenges that we never thought were possible. Across the nation, veterinary hospitals have been pushed beyond their capacity. There has been a massive increase in the number of pets seeking veterinary care over the past year. This is a direct result of the need to work from home due to the coronavirus. Owners are able to keep a more careful watch over their pets and as a result, require more care than before. We have seen a huge increase in new pet ownership over this past year with no chance for the veterinary community to adjust to this upswing. There simply are not enough veterinarians or support staff to accommodate every request at this time.
The increase in caseload to traditional day practices has led to massive increases in emergency cases. As a result, there are times when our emergency facility is pushed to its limit. In order to best serve our community, Mountain View Animal Emergency (MVAE) may be forced to see critical patients only at times. Incoming cases will be triaged and seen based on urgency. Stable pets may have a longer wait time to be seen or asked to check in with their regular veterinarian. If we are stretched to the absolute limit, we will be forced to close for brief periods to take care of the patients we already have in our immediate care. In these rare incidents, we may refer your pet to another emergency facility.
The veterinarians and support staff at MVAE struggle with not being able to see every case that wants to come in. We have to make the difficult decision (at times) to decrease incoming cases to take care of the extremely ill patients we have before us. Please know that limiting the number of cases or closing the hospital to incoming patients is a last resort.
