As local veterinary hospitals struggle to keep up with the influx of pets in need, a new St. Louis-area emergency facility opened its doors this week, with an open floor plan aimed at keeping pets and their people together during treatment — even overnight.
The veterinary emergency team opened the hospital July 5, the chain’s first in Brentwood, Missouri.
“Clinics have long waits and are overwhelmed with customers,” said Jenny Nezerka, VEG’s interim medical director. “It’s one of the heaviest demand markets I’ve ever personally seen. If you have, say, seven clinics but they’re all going on for six hours in a row, you can’t control the volume. There’s definitely demand.”
The hospital was built in a renovated bank building with an open floor plan that allows the owners to see what’s going on and participate in treatment instead of the animals being taken to a back room for examination. Couches, pull-out beds and sleeping bags are available for overnight stays.
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And even the owners provide snacks, water, private rooms or blankets – anything that makes customers comfortable. The clinic encourages pet owners to stay overnight if care is to last several days.
“We want to treat pets like people and people like people,” Nezerka said.
Dr. Michael Karagiannis, chief veterinarian at Manchester Veterinary Specialty Services, said veterinary hospitals in the St. Louis area are overwhelmed. Even with 20 emergency doctors and critical care specialists, Karagiannis’ ER struggles to meet demand.
For animal specialty services, wait times for non-specialty cases can range from two to four hours, although it can be longer before a pet is diagnosed or treated.
“There are more pets than pets and more parents looking to see them,” Karaginis said. In particular, following the pandemic, many 24/7 facilities in the St. Louis area have closed or moved to limited hours due to staffing and doctor shortages, he said.
Instead of competing, Karaginnis said emergency agencies work together to address the many issues in the region.
In preparation for the opening of VEG Brentwood, Nezerka VEG visited as many primary care veterinary clinics as possible. Focused on emergency-only care, VEG Brentwood hopes to become a family veterinarian’s partner when clients need urgent care.
“We are excited to be a part of the community,” Nezerka said. “The St. Louis veterinary community is tight-knit. We are here to help each other, not to compete.
Brianna Six, left, and Lex Lemkeman, veterinary emergency team workers, look at a dog’s patient information at the newly opened animal hospital in Brentwood, Friday, July 7, 2023.
The number of pet health services in the area can be an indication of how profitable the pet industry is. The American Pet Products Association confirmed that the cost is increasing. In the year The 2021-2022 National Pet Owner Survey found that 35% of pet owners reported spending more than last year on their pets and on ongoing pet supplies such as food, health-related products and other pet care items.
For basic care and regular visits, the average dog owner now spends $1,480 a year, and the average cat owner spends about $900. To help defray these costs, many pet parents are turning to pet insurance. The average cost of pet insurance for cats is $30 a month, according to a Forbes Advisor analysis.
The cost of care will continue to rise, Karaginis said. Prices for veterinary specialty services are higher than they were two or three years ago because hospitals have increased employee wages in an effort to retain employees, which is happening across the industry, he said.
“People can’t afford veterinary medicine because it’s too expensive,” Karagiannis said.
At Veterinary Specialty Services, a foreign body surgery — removing what a pet has eaten — costs about $2,000 to $3,000 if the animal is relatively stable, he said. According to Nezerca, VEG Brentwood’s prices are comparable to other pet hospitals.
The VEG Brentwood facility is located at 2101 S. Brentwood Blvd. The first lease was signed last June and construction began in January. In addition to the operating room and radiology area, the building consists of the main room, three exam rooms, a quiet room and several comfort rooms. The clinic employs eight doctors and 30 support staff.
A Kansas City VEG location is currently under construction and slated to open next year in Overland Park.
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