Alexandria pet owners may need to travel a bit further for 24-hour emergency care for their pets.
Effective Feb. 24, VCA Animal Hospital on Duke Street will be closing its 24-hour pet emergency service. "We will still be available for General Practice and Urgent care during day hours," according to a notice on the website.
In a letter to clients, VCA management cited the difficulty in being able to hire and retail veterinarians who are willing to work overnight hours.
This isn't a local issue: The American Veterinary Medical Association reported the nationwide shortage of veterinarians can be attributed, in part, to the very high cost of veterinary school and the emotional toll of veterinary work. The Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Society and American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care have launched a task force to study the shortage of emergency and critical care veterinarians in particular.
The Alexandria VCA Animal Hospital website states what many pet parents already know — VCA has one of the best pet emergency departments in the region. According to the VCA website: "The Emergency and Critical Care Department of VCA Alexandria Animal Hospital provides one of the few round-the-clock services for veterinary care in the area. Our hospital is staffed at all times with veterinarians and technicians to attend to any urgent needs of your pet."
Other options in the region for emergency care for pets include:
- VCA Southpaws in Springfield
- VCA Woodbridge
- Regional Veterinary Referral Center in Springfield
- Colombia Pike Animal Hospital
- The Hope Center in Vienna
- Friendship Hospital for Animals in Washington, DC
