After the pandemic pet surge across the country, studies show there’s a nationwide veterinarian shortage .
That makes it critical to keep cultivating veterinarians already here in Southern Arizona.
The Hermitage No-Kill Cat Shelter & Sanctuary in Midtown Tucson is giving hands-on experience the next generation of vets while giving its more than 200 cats a healthy life.
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Inside Tucson’s high-demand cat shelter and sanctuary
The Hermitage has a full-time veterinarian come in for surgeries and treatment once a week, along with interns and externs from the VCA Valley Animal Hospital and Emergency Center, Pima Community College, Pima Medical Institute, Carrington College and PIMA COUNTY Joint Technical Education District (JTED).
Sabina Dayal just finished veterinarian school, but she’s still learning as an intern with the VCA Animal Hospital, located nearby on 22nd Street.
“We see a lot of cases here. They have so many cats and kittens here [at the Hermitage],” she told KGUN. “You see a lot of different types of things at shelters versus what comes into a normal emergency hospital.”