Many hands make light work, particularly when the work has four legs instead of two, which is one reason several Collingwood area veterinarians have teamed up to start a new urgent care clinic.
Bay Vets Urgent Care opens this weekend, March 22 and 23, and will be open on weekends and stat holidays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. to fill a need identified by vets and pet owners in the Georgian Bay Region.
"This was needed 10 years ago," said Dr. Tai DeLuna, one of the seven vets involved in the venture.
It took time, however, to find the right model and put together a team.
"We needed a group of veterinarians who could work in a collaborative fashion where we could all practice the same high-level of medicine and work together," said DeLuna.
While there is an emergency vet hospital in Barrie that offers weekend and evening emergency treatment, DeLuna said there's a lack of urgent care options.
Similar to an emergency room for humans, each patient is triaged according to the medical need. So a dog from Collingwood who needs a few stitches for a wound might wait for several hours while another animal gets an emergency surgery.
It's a long way to go, a long time to wait, and after this winter, DeLuna said it's potentially an impossible trip to make.
BayVets will operate out of an existing vet clinic - Collingwood Veterinary Services at 16 Pine Street - with one vet on duty each weekend and stat holiday.
A team of seven veterinarians will take turns in the rotation, including Drs Allison Ashleigh, Dana Clayton, Becky Craig, Laura Crawford, Tai DeLuna, Jacquie Pankatz, and Karla Scott. They will be supported by vet techs and the practice manager Sherrie Osmond.
The rotation was important in planning the clinic, said DeLuna, who noted most urgent care clinics are corporate run because it's not sustainable for one or two vets to work every weekend and holiday.
"None of us can do this on our own in any way that is remotely feasible, so we had to find a group that had that vision of being able to offer that care and yet cooperate in a way that no one was going to burn out," said DeLuna.
The other concern was affordability, since a new, fully-equipped practice would cost millions of dollars.
A deal with Collingwood Veterinary Services meant the clinic at 16 Pine Street is open during the week for regular appointments and becomes the urgent care clinic on weekends and holidays.
The clinic is equipped with ultrasound, x-ray, blood machines and a full slate of diagnostic tools.
"Clients can phone in with anything and our staff will do the triaging," said DeLuna.
The urgent care clinic doesn't replace regular veterinary care and check-ups, but operates instead similar to an after-hours clinic by treating what is urgent and then following up with the patient's regular veterinarian during the week.
The team is looking forward to their first weekend offering urgent veterinary care to the Georgian Bay communities.
The clinic can be reached at 289-985-0855, with more information available at BayVets Urgent Care website.