Good question! As with so many things right now the answer may change depending on a lot of factors.
We all love our pets and they’re a huge part of our lives. But as we become more limited in what activities and services we can safely do you may be wondering: is vet care essential? Will my pet still be able to get care?
The answer is complicated. Veterinarians are considered “essential” BUT that doesn’t mean all veterinary care is considered essential or that every vet clinic is open for business as usual.
We all really want to help your pets the same way we did before this but the reality is that for the health and safety of everyone we have to limit the services we provide so that we minimize the risk of disease transmission to you, to ourselves, our staff, and to all the other people that you and I live with and come into contact with.
To do this some clinics have had to reduce their hours as staff may need to stay home for illness or childcare. Many clinics are open but limiting services to “curbside” care where you drop your pet off and they take them into the clinic for exam, testing and treatments without you to maintain social distancing and minimize transmission risk.
In many places vets have specifically been ordered to discontinue any elective and non-essential services. In addition to the social distancing this will also help conserve PPE (personal protective equipment) like masks, gloves, and gowns.
So what kind of things are considered elective? Elective, non-essential, non-urgent care is generally anything that if we skip it for a couple months isn’t expected to cause harm to the patient. But there’s a lot of room for interpretation there and every situation is going to be a little different.
For my practice that means that pets who are painful, having mobility issues, or Quality of Life issues are all essential appointments. Each situation is unique though. If you’re not sure just ask your vet!
While there’s room for interpretation in many cases a nail trim is rarely an emergency. If you don’t usually trim your pet’s nails all the extra time at home may be a great opportunity to learn!
If your usual vet clinic is closed or only seeing emergencies what other options are there for things like medication refills and non-emergencies like itchy ears?
Don’t worry there’s still lots of ways vets are working to try to help you and your pet!
While ER’s are trying to stay open we don’t want to overwhelm them with non-emergencies that might keep them from being able to help pets that really need intensive, emergency care.
Instead your regular vet may be able to do some consults by phone, email, text, or through video chat or web meeting apps! These consults (called telemedicine) allow you to discuss any concerns for your pet, show us what’s going on and we may even be able to offer some home supportive care options to help your pet.
Unfortunately there are still regulations and practical realities that limit what we can do this way. It’s not a real replacement for an in person appointment, but it can be a good option to help you figure out how serious your pet’s issue is and what things you can do to help your pet at home.
Prescriptions for pets can often still be picked up at the clinic or they can be called into human pharmacies or ordered online and delivered to your home. Your vet may even have an their own online pharmacy. I use Covetrus and Vetsource for my clients.
Remember, vets still want to help you and your pets, but we have to make sure we continue to protect ourselves and the public by following government mandates and recommendations.
These may mean that we need to postpone appointments, we may only able to offer limited services in person and be doing more things by remote consults but we’re still here for you and your pets!
Lastly vets are also dealing with all the same worries and uncertainties as you. Practicing kindness and compassion for ourselves and for others will help us all through this challenging time.