‘Just the way it was handled it’s not right’: North Shore pet owner react to vet’s abrupt closure

A Lynn veterinarian is abruptly shutting down. The North Shore Animal Hospital told its’ clients on Thursday they’ll soon need a new place to care for their pets.

“I can’t mess with a dog with insulin, she needs it to stay alive, said Revere dog owner, Toni Depaolis.

Depaolis says she went into panic mode late last week when she got an email from her veterinarian. The email message was also posted to Facebook and said in part; “It is with a heavy heart we announce the permanent closing of North Shore Animal Hospital on December 16th.”

“I tried calling when I got the message they were not answering,” Depaolis said.

Instead, Depaolis heard the same message we got when Boston 25 tried calling. It said in part; “Thank you for calling Northshore Animal Hospital. We are sad to announce that we will be permanently closing our doors on December 16th.”

“I was very shocked and ultimately concerned because I just got her last dose of insulin and she didn’t have any refills.” Depaolis said her dog Chloe is diabetic and had been seeing the vet every two to four weeks to get regulated. Her other dog Nico was also a patient.

The day after announcing the closure, North Shore Animal Hospital posted another statement to Facebook explaining their struggles.

A message to our clients-

Thank you for your patience as our team works through our hospital closure. We would like to apologize to our clients for the short notice you have been given regarding our closure and be as transparent as possible. There are several factors that led to this difficult decision. Over the past 6 months we’ve dealt with numerous facilities issues, including two recent sewage backups into our basement. Issues like these have hindered not only our ability to provide a safe and clean environment for our employees, but also our ability to recruit veterinarians during a time of unprecedented staff shortages in our field.

We want to provide high quality veterinary care to every pet that comes through our door, but the truth is, we cannot do that if we do not have enough staff to support our efforts or a safe and clean work environment.

We have done the best we can to prevent this closure from taking place, however, these situations are out of our control. We appreciate the community support over the years and would like to recommend the following hospitals within the community to take care of your precious pets. Our team has reached out to these hospitals to confirm they are taking new patients. Thank you again for your support.

Your Veterinary Team at North Shore Animal Hospital

Depaolis and other pet owners are now scrambling to find new care for their pets on very short notice.

“Just the way it was handled, it’s not right,” Depaolis said.

The North Shore Animal hospital did provide a list of alternative vets their clients could call. Depaolis says she was able to secure an appointment for her dogs at a new vet in Marblehead. But, she says others were citing a 4-8 week wait.

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