NYC's Animal Shelters Limit Hours Amid National Staff Shortage

BROOKLYN, NY — A national vet shortage exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic has left New York City's only open-door animal shelter with less than a third of the staff it needs to run seven days a week.

The Animal Care Centers of NYC announced Tuesday that both its Brooklyn and Manhattan shelters will be closed one day a week to non-emergency drop-offs, given a veterinary staff shortage that has left more than 65 open positions at the organization.

"There is a vet shortage in shelters all across America — and no one is talking about it," ACC spokesperson Katy Hansen told Patch. "Everyone's looking."

The vet shortage — caused by burnout and competition from private offices — has left ACC with only six of the 20 veterinarians needed to run the organization, which has shelters in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Staten Island. The nonprofit is also searching for 25 vet techs and 28 veterinary assistants, Hansen said.

Owner surrenders and drop-offs for stray animals will be closed Sundays until further notice at the East New York shelter and Mondays at the organization's shelter in East Harlem until the ACC can find more staff.

The "workforce crisis" among vets has escalated in the last eight months or so given increased demand during the coronavirus pandemic, which led many private vet practices to close all while shelters were seeing a spike in both pet adoptions and pet surrenders, Hansen said.

"We could never close, we're not allowed to close," Hansen said. "So, in that time, our vets were getting a lot of those cases."

Currently, ACC takes in around 50 animals each day, a portion of which is due to families impacted by the coronavirus pandemic no longer being able to care for their animals given financial problems or moving to a new place, Hansen said.

The increased demand put a further strain on vet staff, who already have a high rate of burnout given the "compassion fatigue" inherent in the job, Hansen added.

Approximately half of all vet techs burn out of the profession within the first five years, according to CNN. Studies also show that one in six veterinarians will consider suicide at some point in their career, according to the Not One More Vet organization.

"It's really rewarding work, but it's hard work," Hansen said.

ACC is hoping to spread the word about those rewards.

The job is a great way for newer vets to quickly gain expertise or for vets later in their career to find a job with flexible hours, according to Hansen. ACC offers both full-time, part-time and per-shift contracts for its staff.

At their shelters, vets get the unique chance to work with a wide array of animals that they may not see at other practices — including snakes, goats and cows — along with the more typical pets, like dogs, cats or rabbits, Hansen said.

"One of the greatest things, our vets tells us, is your clients really are just the animals," Hansen said. "You're really helping the animals that need it most."

Those interested can email info@nycacc.org or DM the organization online.