BALTIMORE, Md. — The announcement that a longtime East Baltimore animal hospital was planning to close is shining a light on a growing veterinarian shortage affecting communities across Maryland and the country.
'We want to help': Where pet owners can find affordable care after vet closures
The lead veterinarian at Erdman Animal Hospital is retiring, and there is no one to fill his role — a problem that experts say is becoming increasingly common.
Dr. Stanley Robertson, dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, said the shortage is hitting rural areas especially hard and stems from several factors.
"Many communities have limited veterinary services or are without a veterinarian. There's a lot of veterinarians within the state of Maryland that are about 10-15 years from retirement age," Robertson said.
He says 90% of the large animal veterinarians after WWII are gone.
"It's really hard in our community recently," Ethan Salem said.
Salem, director of marketing and communications for the Maryland SPCA, said with animal hospitals in the area closing, the Maryland SPCA has seen more people come to them for help.
The organization had to close its own veterinary clinic in 2023 because of the ongoing veterinarian shortage.
"With the rising cost of vet care, we see those trends, we think they're gonna continue, so this is something we're very concerned about," Salem said.
Robertson also pointed to a shift in how veterinary practices are structured.
"When I graduated veterinary school 40 years ago, almost all practices were individually and privately owned; now there's corporate practices," Robertson said.
That shift makes it difficult for vets who offer low-cost care to find someone to take over their practice when they retire.
Where Baltimore pet owners can go for help
Despite the closure, resources remain available for pet owners in the area.
The Baltimore Humane Society in Reisterstown offers wellness services, with exams starting at $45.
"We just want it to be affordable for people; veterinary services can be really expensive at some practices. We want everyone to have good healthcare for their pets," Alexa Jones said.
Jones, marketing and PR director for the Baltimore Humane Society, said the organization has already served more than 600 animals through its public spay and neuter and wellness programs this year.
"We do annual check-ups here, people can come in, they can get up to date on their vaccines, we've served over 600 animals from the public spay and neuter this year and in our wellness center, so we're here for people, we're going to get through this together," Jones said.
But she says not to take any sick or injured pets there.
The Maryland SPCA has a list of low-cost options for pet owners on its website.
"We encourage people to either come in, visit our website, give us a call, and talk about their specific needs. We want to help the individuals in our community the best we can, and when people adopt from us, they get a certificate for an initial examination," Salem said.
A long-term fix could be on the way
Robertson said the shortage is not due to a lack of interest in the profession. Veterinary programs routinely receive far more applicants than they can accept.
"For a class of 100, oftentimes you may have 1500 to 2000 applicants," Robertson said.
The University of Maryland, College Park, has a graduate veterinary program, but it's in collaboration with Virginia Tech. Meaning there is nowhere solely in the state of Maryland to earn a veterinary degree— at least not yet.
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore hopes to open a new veterinary school as soon as next summer.
"We're looking to start a veterinary school there with a cohort of 100 students per class. We're looking to have half these students from the state of Maryland. We're looking forward to the opportunity to serve the state and help meet this need," Robertson said.
They're working on the accreditation process now and hoping to start classes as early as June 2027.
In 2025, legislation was added to include veterinarians in a loan repayment program, leaving experts optimistic about the future.
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