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Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

  • 1.  Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 17 days ago

    Updated 5/5/25 at 12:37 pm - Recording now available to watch on-demand!

    Please note: All views expressed on these calls are not necessarily endorsed by Maddie’s Fund.

    We hope to see you on the next Community Conversation on Monday, 5/5/25 at 11am PT for "A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers" with Dr. Michelle Moyal, Veterinary Communications Manager for Purina North America, and Dr. Raye Taylor, Instructor for the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine. 

    Join Dr. Moyal and Dr. Taylor as they discuss: 

    • What are veterinary barriers to collaborating with shelters, rescues, fosters, and volunteer opportunities
    • What to understand about veterinary needs for support in order to help groups
    • Why "free service" is a barrier
    • How having a game plan, funding support, and empathy might lead to more functional and sustainable relationships

    Register for Community Conversations hosted via Zoom: https://maddies.fund/CommunityConvoRegistration2024

    Make sure you are using the latest version of Zoom when you join us!

    If you are unable to make it live on Monday, this thread will be updated with the recording and resources so you can watch and share whenever you'd like.  After you watch the recording on-demand or attend the call live, be sure to complete this new May 2025 entry form to enter to win up to a $5,000 grant: https://www.maddiesfund.org/weekly-community-conversations-may25-giveaway.htm


    #AccesstoCare
    #EducationandTraining
    #Medicine,SurgeryandSterilization

    ------------------------------
    Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
    Maddie's Fund
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 16 days ago

    I am looking forward to it! 



    ------------------------------
    Diana Kelley
    Executive Director
    Healing Horse Touch Company
    https://HealingHorseTouch.com
    KennethMNUnited States
    Discover Healing, Connection, and Renewal through Horses.
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 14 days ago

    I work as a Hybrid CVT & Rescue Team Support for Coco's Heart Dog Rescue out of Somerset, WI. Our rescue is composed of 4 groups: Rescue Team, Fosters, Volunteers, Veterinary Staff. As someone that works in both the rescue team & veterinary staff, I see many of the challenges each side faces. I want to be able to bridge the communication barrier/gap that often exits between the two groups. We are in this together!



    ------------------------------
    Amber Merkatoris
    Hybrid CVT & Rescue Team Support
    Coco's Heart Dog Rescue
    WI
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 13 days ago

    Hi Amber, 

    I am the founder of our charity, All About the Animals Foundation and our team is composed of veterinary staff as well. Our program directors (veterinary nurses) and myself specialize in emergency and specialty medicine. We support owners who are financially constrained when their pets need immediate medical assistance. We have worked with many rescues in the clinical setting and I understand the gap in communication you are speaking on.  I agree the challenges that each face can be very different but there could be more efficient ways to work together. 

    Our foundation is fairly new and I've had a few rescues reach out to speak further about possible collaborations. I'd be happy to talk with you if you were interested!



    ------------------------------
    Maria Putnam
    Founder/CEO
    All About the Animals Foundation
    CT
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 12 days ago

    Do you directly assist owners in caring for their animals when they aren't able to afford it? I'm the helpline coordinator for a municipal shelter and I'm always looking for additional resources to send to our clients to help afford vet care.



    ------------------------------
    Elsa Enstrom
    Helpline Coordinator
    Asheville Humane Society
    NC
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 13 days ago

    Thanks to the 146+ people and paws who joined us on today's Community Conversations call! The recording is now available to watch on-demand. Below you'll find a recap of today's call and the resources shared. 

    Call Recap

    • Welcome from hosts
      • Donell Randolph, Advisory Council Member, California for All Animals
      • Dr. @Raye Taylor, CEO/CMO, Taylor Veterinary Services; Vice President, Minnesota Board of Veterinary Medicine; Instructor, University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine

    • Question of the Day: When trying to work with a veterinarian, what kind of barriers have you faced?
      • "Being bumped from their schedule by another client that doesn't get discounts." - Gwen Harding-Peets
      • "Cats At Large MKE. We work exclusively with outdoor cats. Private practice veterinarians are not usually well-versed in health problems faced by outdoor cats, we have much better success in treatment with shelter medicine vets. However, we don't always have access to the shelter clinics outside of TNR." - Amanda Press
      • "Most of the private vets around here won't work with feral cats.  So we are very limited for s/n sots" - Gwen Harding-Peets
      • "We have often been the ones educating the veterinarians on things like FIP, necrotizing fasciitis, issues relating to kittens under 6-8 weeks of age, less common parasitic illnesses." - Amanda Press
      • "Hi from Louisiana! We are very rural and have to go outside of our Parish for vet care. Sadly, the vet we were using now takes weeks for an apt to get into the clinic. So now we are using multiple vets in surrounding parishes." - Pamela Gilcrease 
      • "Being in a small community with a BIG feral cat overpopulation problem, we struggle with keeping up as we only have one veterinary clinic and 6 spots a week for S/N surgeries." - Sunshine Duffy
      • "We have a 5-week-old kitten who is failing to thrive and they basically just shrug and say, if he gets worse, take him for critical care… clearly this is what we are trying to avoid." - Amanda Press
      • "We struggle to find veterinarians that are fast at spay/neuters & ok with some of the procedures we ask for." - Amber Merkatoris
      • "TNR getting the short end of the stick!" - Angeline Fahey
      • "The difference in treatments from shelter vet to shelter vet is an issue.  We don't have a vet on staff so we outsource to other clinics, and we often get mixed information." - Shannon Parker
      • "We just have a lack of vets in our area." - Amber Francisco
      • "A big issue for us is declines due to CIRDC with symptoms lasting for weeks. Veterinarians protecting their licenses." - David Fisher
      • "We have trouble finding new vets for shelter medicine as the pay is generally lower than in private practice." - Ernest Hagan
      • "We have a private practice clinic who does full day spay/neuters of 20-22 cats once a month. It's definitely not the quality of care we receive from shelters/clinics we use that do HVHQ TNR on a regular basis." - Amanda Press
      • "In the rescue I volunteer with we have trouble hiring veterinarians for our mobile clinic.." - Kristen Petrie
      • "In South Florida we struggle finding practices that are on board with rehabilitating FIV cats." - Bruna Araujo
      • "Veterinarians that don't want to do procedures that they don't agree with because emotionally they experienced personally - for example: removing large tumors. The answer was to adopt out the dog as is...." - Michelle Russillo
      • "We are 1 hr away from a low-cost vet, so being able to do series of vaccines for rescue kittens." - Lisa Nelson
      • "Not enough funding allocated in budget." - Chris Fitzgerald
      • "Our vet school in NC does not educate on shelter medicine." - Julie Paddison
      • "FVRCP is available over the counter, and we have trained 4-5 of our rescue members to provide vaccines for kittens in our care." - Amanda Press
      • "Our group is considering offering to pay for vet students to go to HQHVSN training in exchange for ___ hours of spay/ neuter assistance." -  Julie Paddison
      • "We're an intake diversion vs a rescue, we provide vet care for families with disabilities or elders who are living on limited income.  Our challenge is connecting with clinics who can provide some of the care pro bono.  Many of our clinics are struggling at remaining fully staffed.  I think it is mostly technician shortage, but a few clinics have been looking for vets for over a year." -  Heather Mains
      • "New vets are not getting much experience in school now, either." - Amber Merkatoris
      •  "Waiting for appointments." - Katie Jones
      • "Availability in Rural areas - S/N services are pushed out 2 months." - Stephanie Sokol
      • "Private vets not only have a stigma with Shelters and shelter animals, but they are unwilling to donate time or at least resources to help Clinics absorb the spay/neuter burden." - Jan Bono
      • "Just the number of veterinarians - the veterinarian shortage. We have only had a fully staffed veterinary team with vets for about a few months in the last few years. We've been lucky to be able to get relief veterinarians to provide support, but a full staff would definitely be preferred, of course." - Stefanie Cornell
      • "I saw some great messaging recently (from Chirrups and Chatter) about the lack of respect for veterinary professionals. Treating our experts with kindness and respect does help preserve the relationships we have, even if there is a veterinary shortage." - Emily Wood

    • National Updates

    • Highlights from the Chat
      • "You may be interested in seeing how Maddie's Fund has supported Shelter Medicine education described in last year's Annual Report: https://www.maddiesfund.org/assets/communications/MF-annual-report2023-24.pdf." - Irene Chansawang
      • "As a rescue volunteer, I live in a rural county with 4 vets, and I believe 3 are teetering on retirement. We often have to travel over an hour to the next state over for our s/n. Really do appreciate the energy and optimism from you both!" - Heidi Iampe
      • "Shelter medicine and rescue teams are being overwhelmed, and the ongoing veterinary shortage is further pressing the stress on lifesaving companion animals. Mental hygiene is truly a challenge. No is a complete sentence! Live to fight another day. No guilt. Your heart is committed." - Lisa Pearce
      • "On the patient side, I recently had two separate emergencies for my dog. Both times I was given a broken-down estimate for services prior to having services. (Both times my dog was taken and stabilized.) They were both different emergency hospitals; the one I feel like they added so many items and days then really needed; and the second facility did what was needed, and sent my pup home, saving lots of money. I don't have pet insurance. I feel pet insurance is so expensive." - Debra Srogota
      • "Maddies' supports Humane Education that sparks youth too. Thank you!" - Lisa Pearce



    ------------------------------
    Sheila Kouhkan
    Senior Education Specialist
    Maddie's Fund
    CA
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 13 days ago

    Unanswered question from the chat: 

    "Can you please speak to the suicide rate of Vets. I've read this but I don't remember where. It's a tough profession and I love the mentor idea and working with Vet schools and offering apprenticeships. Also, can you please speak to the pipeline from highschool to vet school?" - @Christina Veloz



    ------------------------------
    Maddie's Pet Forum Admin
    Maddie's Fund
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 12 days ago

    Suicide incidence in the Veterinary profession is painful to witness. The more we talk about, the more everyone is aware, and can support themselves or colleagues by knowing what it looks like and where to turn to or how to offer support. 

    Because unfortunately, suicide rates amongst Veterinarians (and likely veterinary paraprofessionals) are startling. Female and Male Veterinarians have higher suicide rates than the general population, with female veterinarians alarmingly higher, all elevated compared to other medical professions. If each of us becomes aware of what we are facing and the resources each of us can add to the army of people watching our colleagues and working to prevent losing anyone else. Thanks @Christina Veloz for this question and comment

    There are some resources for veterinary professionals that are highly valuable for anyone who associates with veterinarians (all of us).

    1. Please visit and learn of this non-profit called NOMV - Not One More Vet    https://nomv.org/, serving to work towards decreasing suicide through awareness and support resources.  

    There are some popular articles, videos, podcasts, and even scientific articles about this concern. I will highlight a couple here, 
    2.. A documentary called "The Cost of Caring" is available on Prime and other services, and there is a background article from AAHA highlighting the topic. The synopsis is: "     The Cost of Caring is a documentary about the high incidence of veterinarian suicide rates in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Veterinary Medical Association published a joint study in 2019 indicating that veterinarians were more likely to die by suicide as compared to the general U.S. population. Men were 2.1 times more likely and for women, it was worse at 3.5 times. The researchers cited multiple stressors that may play a role: the daily demands at work which include euthanizing pets, burnout, compassion fatigue, poor work-life balance, and being cyber bullied and vilified by pet owners for not meeting their expectations. This film delves into those issues and exposes this problem in the pet med industry today."

    3. Scientific journal review:   An article in 2023 has cited some reasons and statistics: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10421543/

    Suicide in veterinary medicine: A literature review
    Rodrigues da Silva et al

    Abstract: Veterinarians are commonly exposed to occupational stressors, including excessive workload and financial constraints. These stressors can lead to psychological distress, which typically results in mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, and burnout and can even culminate in suicide attempts or suicide deaths. Risk factors associated with poor mental health and high rates of suicide in veterinary practitioners include continuous exposure to challenging scenarios, such as interpersonal conflicts, performing euthanasia, and easy access to lethal means of suicide, such as opioids and anesthetics. The previous studies highlight the urgent need for a better understanding of predisposing factors, mental health-related improvements in the professional environment, and the subsequent establishment of primary mental health-related care policies. Effective ways to promote mental health and prevent suicide may include social support, resilience, developing coping skills, promoting a healthy work environment, and discouraging perfectionist behaviors. This review aimed to summarize findings in studies that have investigated mental health and suicide in veterinarians and veterinary students and highlight measures that could be implemented as options for mental health promotion and suicide prevention.



    ------------------------------
    Raye Taylor
    Veterinarian
    Taylor Veterinary
    MN
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 7 days ago

    I will echo everything that Dr. Taylor has mentioned above.

    "Suicides among veterinarians-both male and female-in the United States alone is three to five times higher than that of the general population. But this very serious issue of mental health and suicide rates in the veterinary community is not restricted to the US - multiple studies from Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom have also described higher-than-expected deaths from suicide".  And this is not limited to veterinarians alone unfortunately. 

    Psychology today wrote a brief but very readable summary of some of the important issues: 

    https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/zooeyia/202311/silent-suffering-the-high-rate-of-suicide-in-veterinarians

    The American Foundation for the prevention of suicide also has some good resources available online. 

    The pipeline for veterinary medicine in my opinion is (in my opinion) not as stout, or readily visible as human medicine is. There are many individuals trying to tackle this on their own by visiting schools/doing career day events, giving speeches (or podcasts!) etc and there are some great programs trying to help provide access to all students no matter their background. Exposure to vet med EARLY is the key- ideally by middle school.

    I have included some great programs below!

    https://vet.purdue.edu/vetahumanz/origin/

    https://www.blend.vet (As I mentioned on the podcast)

    https://pawsibilitiesvetmed.com/about/ (this program works with students young vets no matter where they are in their career to help provide mentorship and support).

    Remember, there are only 33 vet schools in the US (with 12 new ones on the horizon and/or in progress) vs 155 (MD/DO programs) in the US (both 2024 stats). 



    ------------------------------
    Michelle Moyal
    Veterinary Communications Manager
    Purina North America
    NY
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 9 days ago

    The biggest barrier I've found with working with veterinarians in the horse industry is finding one.  There are two listed in our area, but both act like they are afraid of the horses.  It is difficult working with that.  A non-horse-expert has come out for an emergency, which we were really thankful. 



    ------------------------------
    Diana Kelley
    Executive Director
    Healing Horse Touch Company
    https://HealingHorseTouch.com
    KennethMNUnited States
    Discover Healing, Connection, and Renewal through Horses.
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 7 days ago

    HI Diana,

    There is no good answer, and it must be very frustrating to see this challenge constantly. especially for places like yours, that are already fighting geographical barriers to care I'm afraid you have nailed the top problem that everyone faces, but you are not imagining things, it IS even worse in the Equine world. More and more veterinarians interested in equine are leaving that side to go to small animal, especially to get competitive wages and a better work-life balance. Then you add in that that often Large Animal practitioners either prefer not to do equine or don't know how, and a general decline in persons wanting to become equine practitioners is all stacked against the equine owners' world. 

    Like we talked about, money is a huge thing, but it is more complicated than just the cost of a service...for example, in equine medicine, generally the pay rate is still lower than other areas of vet med, unfortunately, despite :
    1. Growing costs of goods and insurance,e and an unwillingness and/or inability for clients to pay for services at competitive rates;   
    2. Higher physical risks and importance of working with (often specialized) support staff (which are increasingly difficult to find and hire); 
    3. The need for specialty equipment and specialized training.

    Fewer practitioners coming in, more going out, and animal numbers steady-to-increasing makes another key element- mentorship- also increasingly challenging (and suspicious as another contributor to vets leaving equine side.)

    The field knows this, and our professional organization - AAEP - the American Association of Equine Practitioners, is aware and working towards solutions to turn the tide and encourage and support equine veterinarians. In 2022 they assembled a commission for the sustainability to brainstorm ways to address it. Last year, they released a set of resources around it. Here is an article from  March 24,  by Coco Lederhouse  from the AVMA as well. Of course there aren't any good and certainly no fast answers. So it is up to all of us to think of ways to get creative...

    <>Express gratitude for their time, even chatting, empathize with their struggles, and ask about partnership opportunities. 

    <>Think of perks for your Equine vets, even bringing in one from afar for a trip (3-night stay for 1 day service?), or each day they help, they get a massage (some businesses might even donate the massage for the cause of the rescue). 

    <>Reach out to other non-equine vets and see if one might be interested in learning some basic things through your org or your org organizing it. For example, vaccination, testing (Coggins), deworming, body condition/weighing, field dressing, dental assessment.

    <>Partner with a small animal group to recruit, or another non-profit, reservation nation, or corporate groups to collaborate on networks and resources. 

    Anyone have ideas to share with this??? Please, share with this post!



    ------------------------------
    Raye Taylor
    Veterinarian
    Taylor Veterinary
    MN
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 7 days ago

    Hi Diana,

    I am so sorry to hear how tough it has been! I am glad you found someone to help in an emergent situation.

    From an academia point of view, I can say that only a small percentage of our students go into equine medicine.  I believe we had 2% in the last couple of years (which is higher than typical!). 

    I think this article highlights some reasons:  https://vetmed.vt.edu/news/2023/equine-veterinary-crisis.html

    "What is most alarming is that within five years, due to the demands of the profession, 50% of these equine-focused veterinarians will move to small animal practice or decide to leave their aspirations for a career as a veterinarian behind altogether. "

    I do want to highlight something we mentioned with some of our young practitioners learning high volume spay/neuter with relation to the situation you mentioned above. Remember they may want to do that type of surgery, but may not have had enough practice to be confident.  My hope is that these doctors you are meeting are passionate about horses and really need the time and mentorship to approach them comfortably and with confidence. I LOVED horses in vet school, but did not feel that I had enough exposure to them in order to practice (I never met a horse until I was a vet student). 



    ------------------------------
    Michelle Moyal
    Veterinary Communications Manager
    Purina North America
    NY
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 13.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 8 days ago

    I'm so happy to see more spaces having this conversation. 

    I am a veterinarian, practice owner (co-own with a veterinary technician), and now president of our associated 501(c)(3) non-profit A to Z Home Vet Care Initiative. 

    Our practice is a housecall small animal and exotics practice. What we've encountered in the 5+ years we've been open is that housecalls are an accessible veterinary service, but the cost is not accessible. For those with the means to access the service it can be the reason an owner can keep their pet despite their housing situation, disability etc. The problem, the "barrier to entry" if you will, is that most seniors in the US live on a fixed income. Most people with a disability that impacts their ability to get into a clinic also rely on disability benefits, which they are only eligible for if they maintain incredibly strict and restrictive income limits. There are multiple populations of people who NEED housecall vet services but the nature of their situation almost always makes housecalls cost prohibitive for them. 

    Personally, I haven't encountered many solutions to this problem. Our housecall practice decided to branch out and also start a non-profit whose aim is to subsidize housecall veterinary costs for the people that need it and to increase the accessibility of veterinary medicine by utilizing the accessibility of housecall vet visits to increase veterinary care use by marginalized, under-represented, historically/systematically disenfranchised groups etc. 

    As we earn grant and donation funds, we develop programs to help various communities so we can allow for more vet care for pets in households whose needs weren't previously being met by vet med. 

    My question for the community here is, what sort of programs would you wish to see us run, if you lived in Denver where we're starting our work? For example, we are currently working to launch a program that will provide free cat and dog vaccinations at local senior living/care facilities in the near future, to help reduce the number of pets surrendered when seniors move into these facilities. 



    ------------------------------
    Maria Zayas
    Veterinarian/President
    A to Z Home Vet Care Initiative
    CO
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 14.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 7 days ago

    Maria, Thank you for the work you do and calling out the absolute need that Access to Care...is also linked heavily to Social Determinants of Health. 

    Without diving into the literature, Im sure many people would agree...that people with fixed incomes (for any reason) may be more likely to have transportation challenges and may have even more barriers to providing care (like mobility/dexterity, cost of medications/treatments, etc) YET like everyone would be deeply benefited by having a pet ant their positive impact on their mental and physical health....  so what are we as a whole and as individuals doing to bridge this gap? Thank you Dr @Maria Zayas for being a mobile practitioner and working towards bridging this gap!!

    I too, had a mobile practice, and it was so much better for the pet, the family, and me in many, many ways. Yet still had barriers like cost, logistics, emergency, and space/capacity. Ive see or done some events like that, where vaccine clinics or S/N events were associated with a housing complex or building, which was such a great way to get care to those with restrictive barriers. We are having a People and Pets inaugural event next month with the Schools of Medical, Veterinary, Pharmacology, Public Health, + more to address various needs through community and student support.  Perhaps Denver area can have a similar network. 

    I'm here for this groupthink question!! SO, Denver or anywhere--Maddie's community, share what creative ideas for programs you have!



    ------------------------------
    Raye Taylor
    Veterinarian
    Taylor Veterinary
    MN
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 15.  RE: Community Conversations - 5/5/2025 - A Discussion on Veterinary Barriers

    Posted 6 days ago

    Thank you @Maria Zayas and @Raye Taylor/ @Raye Taylor for the work you do to make your communities better! You are greatly appreciated!

    The People and Pets sounds fabulous! There are others in the One Health Forum talking about events just like this, a One Health Clinic, that provides services for all family members (human and non). I encourage you to take a look and see other similar clinics and ideas to help you.

    Just a reminder to both of you and your teams to take care of yourselves. I know how tough it can be to show up every day, see all the need, and feel the weight of limited resources. It's a lot-but your work matters, and so does your well-being! THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!



    ------------------------------
    T' Fisher, Director of Operations
    Program for Pet Health Equity
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


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