Animal shelters and veterinary hospitals are two very important types of institutions when it comes to animal health and welfare. They are both aligned in their missions, which, in general terms, involve keeping animals happy, healthy, and in homes. They both recognize the significant role of the human-animal bond in human mental and physical well-being.
In clinics, it’s not uncommon for owners to opt to have routine procedures like spays, neuters, or rabies vaccines done through a shelter. Shelters will sometimes have days where they open up services to the public for a day, offering them at significantly lower costs to the pet owner than a clinic could provide.
So how come veterinary hospitals can’t do the same, on a regular basis? We’ve already established that the hearts of both these institutions are in the same place, but there are key differences that influence the cost to the pet parent in the end.
Firstly, the scope of services and the standards to which they are held differ greatly between the shelter and the hospital. The shelter’s aim is to (ideally) house animals for a short period of time and get them off to their forever home. During their time at the shelter, the veterinary care the animal requires is typically very routine. For example, vaccinations, dental procedures, spays, and neuters would be considered basic care that all animals receive. Otherwise, tasks in a shelter are not directly medicine-related, such as adoption coordination, husbandry, training, etc.
On the other hand, the only job of the veterinary hospital is medicine – routine and otherwise. Hospitals must be equipped for not only routine care but also chronic illnesses as well as emergencies. They will have tools like digital radiography, ultrasound, advanced surgical equipment, as well as monitoring equipment to do it all safely. When a pet is brought to the vet, the pet owner would expect the veterinary team to take the time to research, prescribe, and follow up with their pet’s non-routine case. These are expectations not necessarily placed on a shelter.
Which brings us to another glaring difference between the shelter and hospital: staffing. Shelters run on a combination of volunteers and paid staff. The cost of paying staff is a large expense for any operation, and shelters depend on members of the public donating their time. Volunteers can help with anything from general shelter maintenance, animal husbandry, and surgical preparation and recovery, to the days they provide surgery. Sometimes even licensed veterinarians will volunteer for a day in order to operate a rabies clinic.
Animal hospitals, however, employ only paid, licensed, and educated individuals. There are often multiple veterinarians in a hospital, whereas a shelter may only have one directing the care for the entire building. Veterinary hospitals also have large teams of registered veterinary technicians, educated veterinary assistants, and trained reception staff to help ensure a high level of care is provided to each client and patient.
Lastly, funding is perhaps the most obvious difference between the animal shelter and veterinary hospital. Shelters receive money and funding through a combination of grants, adoption fees, and donations. These donations are largely financial but also include things like medications and food from large companies. Sometimes a shelter may even be the lucky recipient of land and building donations. This not only significantly reduces their overhead costs but also allows shelters the freedom to charge less for services because they don’t have to depend on it for income.
However, the hospital’s only means of income is from selling their services: the service of medicine. There may be the odd grant they can apply for, the same as any other small business, but nothing significant enough to allow financial freedom. Therefore, when a hospital charges, they need to ensure they are making enough to cover overhead costs, equipment fees, and the expertise behind the individuals completing the service (remember: no volunteers). See our article: Understanding the Cost of Quality Vet Care.
“The people who operate these two types of institutions are not all that different: they are all fueled by a love of animals…”
The people who operate these two types of institutions are not all that different: they are all fueled by a love of animals. Therefore, it can be heartbreaking to see members of the public condemn one for having to charge for services while praising the other. There is absolutely nothing wrong with a pet owner opting for services to be completed through a shelter due to the lower cost. But it’s important to respect and understand the differences that allow for that lower cost.