EGYPT, N.Y. — Lollypop Farm says it is temporarily pausing veterinary services for partner animal rescue organizations this summer as it deals with a shortage of veterinarians.
The humane society says the move was necessary as animal welfare organizations across the country face a nationwide veterinarian shortage.
Lollypop expects to hire two new veterinarians in the coming months, but says it will focus its limited surgical capacity on animals currently in its care.
Officials hope to restore services for community rescue partners as soon as possible.
Read the full statement sent to News10 from Lollypop:
“After careful consideration, Lollypop Farm, the Humane Society of Greater Rochester, has made the difficult decision to temporarily halt veterinary care provided to community rescue organizations. This decision was not made lightly, and we understand the challenges it may create for many of the organizations we work alongside.
Like many animal welfare organizations throughout the United States, Lollypop Farm is feeling the impacts of a nationwide shortage of licensed veterinarians. While we are optimistic about the future and anticipate welcoming two new veterinarians to our team in the coming months, onboarding and training new staff takes time before they can fully contribute to our surgical capacity. We will continue to reevaluate our capacity and hope to be able to restore these services to community partners as soon as possible.
As we enter the busiest time of year for feline populations and shelter intake, we have made difficult decisions about how best to allocate our limited veterinary resources. At this time, we are committed to focusing our available surgical capacity on animals currently within our care.
We recognize this news may be disappointing and create additional challenges for organizations within the region, however, we place the highest priority on delivering exceptional, high-quality care and must have realistic expectations regarding the volume of services we are able to provide at this time.”
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