The AVET Emergency veterinarian office on Seventh Street in Parkersburg will be closing at the end of September. After 24 years of providing emergency care the office could no longer maintain operations due to a shortage of veterinarian care providers nationwide. (Photo by Brett Dunlap)

PARKERSBURG — The A-VET Emergency veterinarian office on Seventh Street in Parkersburg is closing.

The office, located at 3602 East Seventh St. Suite B, Parkersburg, will be closed as of Oct. 1, according to a letter posted on the door of the office and on the Facebook page for Animal Veterinary Emergency Treatment Inc.

The reason for the closure is the inability to bring qualified people to the area to staff the facility on a regular basis, according to the letter.

“We have been actively seeking and recruiting veterinarians for quite some time to no avail,” the letter said. “The veterinary industry has suffered for a number of years due to high attrition rates, so there are fewer and fewer qualified staff available to recruit.

“This is not only a problem which affects the state we live in, but the entire U.S. The pandemic has exacerbated this problem, but even in ‘normal’ times, recruitment in the industry is a significant problem.”

Other veterinarians from other local clinics have been helping out by covering shifts to make services available.

“… we are immensely grateful to them for their time and expertise,” the letter said. “It is not sustainable to continue to do this over the longer term; they are committed to their work at their regular clinics who need them to be able to provide their general practices.

“Since we have been unable to recruit any new permanent veterinarians, we have made the incredibly difficult decision to permanently close.”

The office opened in the late-1990s as a means for people to receive after-hours emergency care for their animals when regular veterinarian offices were closed during the evening and late-night hours. The office has been closed on certain days because it didn’t have a veterinarian on duty.

Currently the office is open on Thursdays throughout September from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. It will be open Labor Day Monday, Sept. 6, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. It will be open Friday and Saturday, Sept. 17 and 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day and Sept. 24 and 25 from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. each day.

The office will remain in operation the evening of Thursday, Sept. 30, from 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. Friday, Oct. 1, and then it will close for good.

The office is recommending people reach out to their regular veterinarian to make a plan in the event of an emergency or utilize another emergency facility such as; Kanawha Valley Veterinary Emergency Hospital of Charleston, (304-768-2911); MedVet of Columbus, (614-846-5800); or MedVet Diley Hill (614-829-6444).

If needed, people can request copies of their pets’ records from Williamstown Animal Hospital of Williamstown by calling 304-375-2676.

“We have been privileged to look after your pets for the last 24 years, and want to be sure that they can continue to receive the emergency care they need,” the letter said. “We would like to thank you for all of your continued support, and we hope that you understand this decision hasn’t been made lightly.

“We wish you and your wonderful pets all the best for the future. With great sadness, The AVET Team.”