It’s been three years since the city of Rochester began its search for a new full-time shelter veterinarian. It still has not had a single viable applicant.
The struggle to find a vet has prompted the city to widen its search. This month, the Rochester City Council will vote on a two-year, $28,100 contract with Georgia-based Veterinary Recruiting and Staffing Solutions to advertise the position.
Bridget Monroe chairs City Council’s Parks and Public Works Committee. She said it may be time to review how the city is attracting a new veterinarian.
“I think primarily it'll be the income scale and how it compares, as well as if you know the nature of the job, if that's also part of what makes it more difficult,” Monroe said. “Because I know we definitely get a lot of animals in and a lot of animals that end up being euthanized.”
In 2024, the most recent year for which numbers are available, Rochester Animal Services took in 3,086 cats and dogs, according to the organization’s annual report. It euthanized 544, 191 of which were untreatable. Meanwhile, 689 cats and 854 dogs were adopted from the facility on Verona Street.
The city is offering between $114,002 and $121,517 annually for its shelter veterinarian. The federal Bureau of Labor statistics says the median salary for a veterinarian is $125,510 per year.
The last veterinarian at the city’s Verona Street shelter was Kristen Braitkrus. She lasted nine months before quitting in April 2023.
The city moved to bump up its pay for its per diem vet services last year, to help support surgeries, vaccinations, and check-ups. Lollypop Farm veterinarian Nancy Filiaci has been serving in that fill-in role and her pay was increased from $120,500 to $140,000 annually in that August vote.
Rochester Animal Services director Staci Papadoplos was unavailable for comment. In a provided statement, a city spokesperson said the city is committed to finding the best veterinarian for its shelter, and that it is experiencing the effect of a nationwide shortage in veterinarians.
That shortage of municipal veterinarians is not limited to Rochester
One study from October 2024 focused on municipal and nonprofit animal shelters. It found nearly three-quarters of the 179 surveyed were understaffed for both veterinarians and veterinary support staff. The study was published in the Journal of Shelter Medicine and Community Animal Health.
“This study highlights the critical impact of severe veterinary workforce shortages on nonprofit organizations responsible for medical care for the most vulnerable cats and dogs,” the study’s conclusion reads. “These shortages pose substantial risks to animal welfare, the human-animal bond, and public health.”
For Monroe, the end result of lacking a shelter vet is a critical community need going unmet.
“I think that the quality of what our animal services are is really important,” Monroe said. “It's something that, for a very long time now, for decades and decades, oftentimes anything with Animal Services kind of gets kicked down the road, or it's not given the type of priority that it needs to be given.”
The legislation establishing the recruitment contract will go to vote on Tuesday, Feb. 24.
