Cat or dog owners who haven’t had their pets vaccinated and/or dewormed are invited to drop by the Birchwood Veterinary Clinic on Thursday, Aug. 24.
The downtown clinic, at 1741 Victoria St., is hosting a vaccination clinic that day from 8 a.m.-noon for pets of all ages.
But to be eligible you must book an appointment. Walk-ins will not be accepted.
Registration forms will be sent on email or text to be filled out to show proof of previous vaccinations and those forms are sent back prior to the appointment to avoid bottlenecks at the door.
Birchwood has hosted two previous one-day vaccination clinics, sharing the load with five other veterinary clinics in the city.
Call 250-561-6500 to register.
Half-day vaccination clinics are a new initiative started last year as part of a group effort among Prince George veterinarians in response to a shortage of doctors.
The participating local clinics (Birchwood, Hart Family Veterinary Clinic, Murdoch Veterinary Clinic, Westwinds Mobile Veterinary Service, Prince George Veterinary Hospital) lack the medical staff capacity to take on new unattached patients as regular clients but staff at those clinics felt the need to vaccinate pets could not be ignored.
Birchwood practice manager Melanie Bauman said Prince George continues to experience a shortage of veterinarians which won’t likely be alleviated anytime soon. The B.C. government has doubled funding for B.C. students in veterinary schools from 20 to 40 seats but those students are still four years away from graduating.
“There’s 40 seats for B.C., but we won’t feel it for awhile,” said Bauman. “The labour study in 2019 says we need about 100 vets year to replace retirements and whatever’s happening and how many of those come north.
“I’ve heard there’s a buzz at the federal level to get more international vets in (through immigration) but I don’t know more than that because haven’t seen anything. It’s still stagnant.”
This Friday, from noon-1:30 p.m., to coincide with clinic’s second anniversary, Birchwood is hosting a fundraiser and will be selling hot dogs and chips to collect money for its Angel Fund.
The fund pays the medical costs of pet owners in intense emergency cases. When an urgent case does present itself the doctor can draw on the Angel Fund to help pay the bill for veterinary services for pet owners who otherwise could not afford it.
It’s Birchwood’s way of giving back to the community.
Staff will also be on hand Friday to do nail trimming and anal gland expressions on canine or feline patients for a minimum $5 donation.
