Tails of Hope closing temporarily from lack of veterinarian techs

Aug. 11—HERMITAGE — Unless more veterinary technicians can be found, Tails of Hope Inc. is going to close temporarily, effective today .

For a few years, the Hermitage spay and neuter clinic had struggled to find veterinarians. Although doctors Nicole Grable and Katie Sharp have since stepped in to fill that need, Tails of Hope Executive Director Soraya Hejazi said the clinic now suffers from a lack of qualified support staff.

"If we get a handful of qualified people who are willing to step up and serve the community, we'll be able to continue our mission," Hejazi said.

Tails of Hope provides reduced- and no-cost spay and neuter services, along with vaccines, to pet owners, homeless animals and numerous animal organizations that often bring in a high volume of animals in need of spaying or neutering.

While the clinic's vets perform the actual surgeries, veterinary technicians handle all of the prep work and aftercare, such as applying anesthesia to animals beforehand, assisting with the surgery if needed, and monitoring an animal's vitals after the surgery.

With the clinic's closing today, Hejazi said Tails of Hope has had to cancel hundreds of appointments, which leaves some animal rescues and fosters unable to take in new animals that must be spayed or neutered before adopting out.

While some animal organizations may be able to go to other clinics or veterinary practices, they won't be able to get the surgeries done at the affordable cost or in the volume offered by Tails of Hope. Volunteers who run trap-neuter-return programs will also have to put a hold on their activities for the same reasons.

All of this leading to potentially higher numbers of stray and feral cats, and fewer adoptions.

"This is going to have several negative impacts on the community," Hejazi said.

Among those affected organizations is Maddox and Friends Cat Rescue from Ashtabula County, Ohio.

Despite the hour-and-20-minute drive, founder Sarah Maddox said she didn't mind bringing her cats — usually 10 to 20 at a time — to Tails of Hope due to the "phenomenal" work they did and the lack of any similar clinics between her rescue and Hermitage.

When she heard about Tails of Hope's closing, Maddox said she was "devastated," and doesn't know what she is going to do in the meantime.

At her rescue, which has taken in 153 kittens since early March, Maddox said she keeps her cats in a mixed area. Without any spaying or neutering, Maddox can't bring in any new cats or adopt any out for fear of new kittens being born.

"Spaying and neutering is the basis of everything that we do," Maddox said. "Without that fundamental building block, that puts everything else on hold."

But even if she does find somewhere else to perform the surgeries, it could become significantly more expensive.

At Tails of Hope, Maddox said it could cost between $75 to $125, depending on the cat's gender. The same procedure could cost $300 to $500 at another vet, without the added charges for vaccines that Tails of Hope included.

"It's already more expensive to go somewhere else, and it's especially hard to fundraise or ask for donations right now because people don't have a lot of money," Maddox said.

This problem is not unique to Tails of Hope, as there is a nationwide shortage of veterinary labor.

According to a Mars Veterinary Health Report, the U.S. will need nearly 41,000 additional veterinarians and nearly 133,000 credentialed vet techs by 2030. It would take more than 30 years of graduates to meet the 10-year need for credentialed vet technicians.

Hejazi said there are many factors in the shortage, including burnout among people already in the veterinary field since the jobs are usually physically, mentally and emotionally taxing. The many skills involved also makes vet techs valuable to other fields if they decide to leave animal care.

Since this issue is nationwide and affects other clinics and veterinary practices, Hejazi said Tails of Hope officials aren't necessarily looking to pull vet techs away from other locations and simply shift the strain to somewhere else.

Instead, Hejazi said the clinic could hire multiple people to fill certain shifts depending on their availability, such as a filling in for a day per week or per month — sharing the responsibility among a pool of vet techs rather than a select few.

This would allow potential applicants to pick up some extra income on top of their regular job elsewhere, while limiting their time in the clinic and decreasing the likelihood of fatigue.

"It could be nice to pop in here, use your skill set, and know you're making a difference in the community and the lives of animals, but you're not in the same position all day, every day, to the point of burnout," Hejazi said.

For more information or to apply, visit TailsofHopeWPA.org. Applicants can also call 724-346-4673 and ask for Hejazi.

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Like David L. Dye on Facebook or email him at ddye@sharonherald.com.