Penticton group fighting to get 24/7 vet care in the South Okanagan

A Penticton group is leading the charge to get 24/7 veterinary care for the South Okanagan and will be making an appeal to local politicians next week.

Keith Boswell, representing the group South Okanagan After Hours Pet Care, will be at the city council meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 16. Boswell’s aim is to bring attention to the lack of after hour veterinary care in the city to council members.

He says Penticton no longer offers emergency vet service, and the only alternative for a pet owner whose pet gets ill after hours, or on weekends, is to submit their sick animal to an hour-long drive to a vet in Kelowna.

Boswell says the issue is the cause of "significant community upset" and concern, adding there have been a number of “heartbreaking situations where lack of local pet care has turned into tragedy.”

Boswell describes South Okanagan After Hours Pet Care as an enthusiastic group hoping to work with local veterinarians to find a solution, suggesting after hours pet care could be anything from a fully equipped emergency clinic to local triage, stabilization and pain management care.

He says animals deserve to be treated humanely, calling a forced hour-long drive to Kelowna for a pet in agony "inhumane" in addition to being emotionally hard on the pet's owner.

Boswell is asking council to help influence needed changes to Penticton's after hours pet care by writing Dr. Jane Pritchard, interim registrar for the College of Veterinarians of British Columbia.

“This evening, if you, a loved one or a friend has a pet requiring care and you call your local vet clinic, you will be met by a machine that will say, 'Go to Kelowna,'” he says.

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