Lumsden Clinic stops treating large animals due to lack of vets

Dr. Tanya Marshall has provided large and small animal services in Lumsden for 22 years. In November, she sent a letter informing her large animal clients that she would be closing the large-animal part of her practice. The reasons; are her health and a lack of veterinarians in the province willing to work with large animals.

In her letter, she wrote, “I have not taken this decision lightly and have spent many sleepless nights trying to figure out how I can further care for my clients in the area.” Marshall goes on to say that out of the limited number of new veterinarians, “...few of them have a passion for large animal medicine. Those that do would rather be in warmer climates or live in the urban areas close to amenities.” She said she doesn’t have anyone to mentor or pass her skills to.

As Marshall sees it, the issue is there need to be more seats for Saskatchewan students, and the government needs to find ways to retain those students after graduation. “It’s unfortunate. I love to mentor/teach and share my skill set with new graduates, but when everyone is looking for vets - it’s hard to compete with the mountains and climate etc that other places have. Unless they are from the area … it’s hard to attract someone to Sask.”