Ottawa's largest emergency vet clinic forced to close due to COVID-19

Ottawa’s largest emergency veterinary clinic will remain closed over Christmas due to a staffing shortage because of COVID-19.

Julie Dwyer is the area manager for referral and emergency hospitals with VCA Canada, and says Alta Vista Animal Hospital closed Thursday night for the first time in its history.

"Over the past several days we have had no choice but to close due to Omicron," said Dwyer.

"We have had some positive cases here with employees, it is not a drastic number by any means, but it is the isolation and direct contact implication of that, that has pretty much wiped out a lot of our staff."

A total of 160 staff members and 30 doctors work at the Alta Vista Animal Hospital.

"We work so closely here. We are kind of on top of each other when we are treating pets, one positive case can sometimes impact 20 employees and because of that we just don’t have the staff to safely care for the pets," said Dwyer.

The clinic would see anywhere from 50 to 80 visitors a day.

"We can’t admit a dog if we don’t have the people needed to jump into the operating room to fix a fractured leg," said Dwyer. "We don’t have them right now because everyone is isolating. It is very concerning to us."

Many veterinary clinics are closed over the holidays. There are two other emergency vet clinics in the city, but they are running at or near capacity, and they may not be able to accept critically ill pets.

Dwyer says the situation changes constantly.

"They may say that they can see criticals. In three hours, they may have capacity to see more, and an hour after that, they may not be able to see criticals if their vet is in surgery dealing with a critical condition," said Dwyer.

Critically ill pets may be redirected to Toronto or Montreal.

"Even the staff here we all have two to four pets each, we might be on the road driving to Toronto if we have an emergency with our pets over the next couple of days."

Dwyer says other cities are also dealing with vet shortages.

"We just heard this morning that (Kingston’s emergency clinic) was at capacity already."

Therefore, it is recommended to call first before going to the emergency room.

"Definitely don’t show up to an emergency hospital expecting to be seen without calling first,” Dwyer says.

Alta Vista Animal Hospital will hopefully reopen by the New Year.

"We are hoping to open some critical and expand our services early to end of next week."

Dwyer recommends taking steps to keep your pet safe during the holidays. She recommends making sure all gifts, toys, and plants are out of reach for your pet. Feeding your pet new treats or scraps and leftovers from the table can result is gastrointestinal issues and could cause your pet distress.

Dwyer also says making sure your dog is always on a leash outdoors and keeping your cat inside can help avoid any trips to the emergency room.

Both the VCA Ottawa Veterinary Hospital and the Ottawa Animal Emergency and Specialty Hospital are open for emergency visits.