1 week Ago By Kevin Rollason
Thompson residents who need medical care for their pets will have to drive four hours to The Pas when the northern city’s sole veterinary clinic shutters at the end of the month. Read this article for free: Already have an account? To continue reading, please subscribe: * Thompson residents who need medical care for their pets will have to drive four hours to The Pas when the northern city’s sole veterinary clinic shutters at the end of the month. Read unlimited articles for free today: Already have an account? Thompson residents who need medical care for their pets will have to drive four hours to The Pas when the northern city’s sole veterinary clinic shutters at the end of the month.
Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal, who owns North of 55 Veterinary Services, said the clinic’s last day is Dec. 31.
Her equipment has already been sold. The next closest veterinarian clinic is in The Pas. “It has been almost four years that I’ve been away from home working here,” said Hudson Reykdal.
Supplied Winnipeg Humane Society veterinarian, Dr. Sarah Regehr. “I live in Ashern with my husband, but I’ve been up here since Thompson became without a veterinarian in 2021.
I came up to help out and it transitioned to me living here full time. “I’ve kept my life on hold for four years, but now I’m going back home. I got married for a reason.
” The Thompson situation isn’t unique in Manitoba. Portage la Prairie lost its sole veterinarian clinic last month; it had to close after the death of one vet and the retirement of the another. For several years, the Manitoba Veterinary Medical Association has been concerned about the shortage of veterinarians in the province.
Two years ago, under the Tory government, the province decided to increase annual funding to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Saskatchewan so the number of subsidized Manitoba students who attend it could increase from 15 to 20 annually. A provincial spokesman said the funding will remain in place under the NDP government. The spokesman added that, on average, about 80 per cent of the school’s Manitoba graduates return to practice in the this province.
However, it takes four years to train a vet, which means the first ‘extra’ veterinarians are only midway through their second year. Plus, there is no guarantee they will choose to practice in Manitoba. Currently, there are 22 job openings for veterinarians listed on the association’s website — and that doesn’t account for all of the vacant positions at clinics across the province.
The Winnipeg Humane Society has three openings. It has been looking for a senior veterinarian for six months, while it also seeks a veterinarian, and a director of clinic operations. Dr.
Sarah Regehr, a humane society vet, said the additional five Manitoba students enrolled at the veterinary college each year “are definitely needed.” “They will start graduating in the next couple of years so hopefully, down the line, we will get relief for the veterinarian shortage,” said Regehr. For the time being, she said many veterinarians are retiring, leaving the profession, or moving elsewhere.
“The replacements are not keeping up,” said Regehr. As for Thompson, Regehr said the loss of a veterinarian has a ripple effect on a community” “Lots of people won’t be in a community without vet care.” “If you have four dogs and want to move up there for work, it is tough to make that decision when you know there is no vet service there.
I don’t know if I could live in a community without care. I hope they find a way of encouraging a vet to take on that community.” Corey Wilson, the association registrar and executive director, said there are other ways to increase the vet complement than by adding post at the college.
The association has lobbied for the government to make it easier for foreign veterinarians to practise in Manitoba as well boost the roster of veterinarian technologists, which he said are the animal care equivalent of nurses. “A lot of veterinarians are retiring at the same time; it’s the same for many professions,” he said. “The baby boomer cohort is aging out.
“There’s definitely no shortage of jobs for veterinarians in Manitoba...
but you absolutely need to have a veterinarian up there (Thompson).” Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.
Hudson Reykdal said the local humane society has bought the Thompson clinic, but as of this point, it’s only intended to host Winnipeg Humane Society vets once every few weeks to spay and neuter pets. While Hudson Reykdal has no plan to open her own clinic in southern Manitoba, she will continue to work in the profession. “I’m wanting to slow down a bit,” she said.
“I will be doing some locum work for other clinics which are short-staffed. “I think there are probably very few clinics where I could call and say do you want part-time help and be refused. There’s a shortage everywhere.
” [email protected].
ca Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the . He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the until 1988, when he joined the . He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award.
. Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about , and .
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Thank you for your support. Kevin Rollason is a general assignment reporter at the . He graduated from Western University with a Masters of Journalism in 1985 and worked at the until 1988, when he joined the .
He has served as the Free Press’s city hall and law courts reporter and has won several awards, including a National Newspaper Award. . Every piece of reporting Kevin produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the ‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism.
Read more about , and . Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider .
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