Each December, the International Day of Veterinary Medicine honors those who dedicate their lives to caring for animals. Yet right now, a deepening crisis—driven by irresponsible animal acquisition, relentless breeding and skyrocketing costs—is preventing veterinary professionals from helping the animals who need them the most.

Many readers may be unaware that big corporations, including massive private equity firms, are buying out formerly independent veterinary clinics across the country. Once absorbed, prices rise dramatically, staff are pressured to upsell services and the focus shifts from compassion to corporate profit.

Today, the average annual cost of routine veterinary care for a dog ranges from $500 to $1,500, with emergency visits frequently exceeding $1,500 to $3,500. Surgeries can cost thousands more. It’s no surprise, then, that a national study found that more than half of animal guardians—including those in high-earning households—have skipped or declined care because they couldn’t afford it. With the majority of Americans lacking the savings to cover an unexpected $1,000 emergency, one unplanned veterinary visit can be financially devastating.

Denying animals veterinary care is both illegal and unethical. Yet, despite the soaring cost of treatment, people continue to acquire animals they are unable or unwilling to provide for.

When corporate clinics insist on full payment upfront, unprepared, distraught guardians face an impossible ultimatum—surrender their companion or opt for euthanasia rather than let them suffer. Those who do not seek needed veterinary care may even become criminally culpable when an untreated injury or illness progresses. The animals, of course, pay the highest price: prolonged suffering and agonizing deaths.

The consequences ripple beyond individual families—rising costs also undermine preventive care. A new study reveals that by 2030, an estimated 75 million animals in the U.S. may not be able to access veterinary care, largely because the country is facing a growing shortage of veterinarians.

This crisis is driven by high educational costs, overwhelming workloads and burnout—issues made worse as independent clinics vanish and corporate chains demand more from already overworked staff.

The strain on the system doesn’t end there. Affordable spay/neuter services have dwindled in communities that need them the most. This results in unwanted litters that create more homeless animals and stretch already overburdened shelters well beyond their limits. Breeders make things worse because every animal they sell means one less available home for those in shelters or on the streets.

Nonprofits are doing everything possible to fill the gap. Last year, PETA’s Virginia-based mobile clinics sterilized more than 10,500 cats and dogs, often free of charge, in communities without resources. Thanks to compassionate donors, PETA also helps desperate guardians cover the cost of other veterinary services. Animal protection groups across the country are doing the same, striving to keep dogs and cats in loving homes and prevent suffering.

But these groups can only do so much.

Elected leaders must take action by expanding access to affordable spay/neuter programs and basic veterinary services. They must also ban the retail sale of animals in pet stores, which drives breeding and fuels animal homelessness.

And we, as guardians, must be honest with ourselves. Never buy animals, and don’t adopt unless you are fully prepared—emotionally and financially—to care for them for life.

Veterinary costs aren’t coming down anytime soon, if ever. Loving an animal means planning for the real, ongoing expense of preventive care, emergencies and humane euthanasia when the time comes. Responsible guardianship requires a dedicated savings fund for animals and the willingness to spend hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars each year to keep our companions healthy and free from suffering.

Veterinary care should not be a luxury. Animals deserve better—and so do the professionals who care for them and the guardians who love them.

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Melissa Rae Sanger is a licensed veterinary technician and a senior writer for the PETA Foundation, 501 Front St., Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.

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