Demands mount for emergency veterinary service in Chatham-Kent following death of dog

WhenSharron Gilestried to get emergency care for her ailing 10-year-old chihuahua Jenny Penny on Saturday, Oct.16, she saidshe couldn't find a single veterinary office in Chatham-Kent that was open that day to take her.

"These offices were open, they should have seen her," said Giles, who lives in Blenheim.

Giles said she couldn't take the dog to her own vet because she was closed Saturdays.She can't remember which offices she talked to, but she saidthey gave her various reasons not to see her dog,such as:she was not a client, she didn't get the dog vaccinated there and they were over booked. Giles said she was told to take the dog to Windsor.

When she called the Lauzon Veterinary Hospital there wasno answer. When she got a hold of the Walker Road Animal Hospital she said she was told to leave the dog and the vet would call her.

Giles' daughter Cheryl Tompkins was about to take the dog to Windsor whenGilesmanaged to get a vet in Petroliato see Jenny. Tompkins took the dog therebut found out Jenny had a tumour and had to be euthanized.

Jenny wouldn't have survived even if she was able to get her seen sooner, she said. Giles is furious the dog had to suffer longer than it had to.

Looking for emergency vet care in Chatham-Kent

3 years ago

Duration 0:20

Sharron Giles tried to find someone to look at her 10-year-old Chihuahua Jenny Penny on a Saturday. Her vet was closed and she couldn't find an office in the municipality that offered 24-hour emergency care.

"My problem is this was an emergency.This was unexpected. The vets were open. It doesn't matter if it's night or day and you have an emergency, you can't get through to a vet," said Giles.

Lynn Leveille, who has hundreds of names on a petition calling for 24-hour emergency care in Chatham-Kent, saidthis is just the latest in a list of heart breaking cases that have occurred over the past year and a halfsince veterinarians in the municipality stopped offering that service.

"Basically what we're after is to reinstate 24-hour care in Chatham-Kent," said Leveille."We have a very simple answeras far as we're all concerned. Rotate emergency service."

Vasant Barot is the veterinarian who eventually saw Jenny. He agrees the vets could take turns.

"A group of the small clinics can work on a rotary way," said Barot.

Leveille said all 11 clinics in the municipality used to haveemergency care for their clients.

"It just slowly, very quietly started disappearing," said Leveille. "Most people were never even informed."

She saidwithout emergency care in Chatham-Kent it's an hour's drive to Windsor or London and in most situations the animals can't survive that long.

In a news release from the College of Veterinarians of Ontario from April the college writes thatthe pandemic and a growing demand for veterinary services have stretched veterinary teams "to the breaking point."

"The College of Veterinarians of Ontario (CVO), the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC), and the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) are working together on measures to help address the shortage of veterinarians and to help the public and veterinary healthcare teams adapt to the mismatch in demand and capacity for veterinary services," reads the release.

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The CVO adds that"results of a 2020 study by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association confirmed that demand for veterinary services has or will soon exceed capacity in most parts of Canada."

When it comes to reinstating 24-hour care, Jan Robinson, Registrar and CEOof the CVO said the college cannot compel veterinarians to provide it.

"Do veterinarians see emergency situations for their own existing clients? Absolutely. For an individual who is not a client of a veterinarian they are not an emergency facility," said Robinson.

She said many veterinarians in Ontario will see pets that aren't their regular clients in an emergency but they are not obligated to.

Leveille and Giles still feel their vets can share the duties.

Leveille intends to take the petition to the area veterinarians in hopes they will bring the service back. She also intends to approach Chatham-kent council.