Is Winter Coming? Should We Be Afraid?

Since the middle of 2022 we have pretty much constantly felt overwhelmed by the volume of work available. The result has been a spike in revenue and, for many, profit. But this has come at a cost, and our teams have tended to suffer due to shortages of staff compared to demand. The combination of high demand for services but short supply of skills has been the big issue for vet med and threatens to crush us all.

But now, as Uncle Benjen from Game of Thrones warns Jon Snow, “Winter Is Coming”. In what we may yet consider the 'good old days', the rush of pet ownership is likely behind us and the steadfast nature of veterinary resilience is once more going to be put to the test. In our case it’s not a wall of the blue-eyed undead about to overwhelm the north. It’s inflationary pressures pushing our economies into recession. Will pet adoptions turn to pet surrender? Will there be a rebalance of supply to demand? That is precisely what a recession is all about. Bubbles burst. Things deflate. Normality returns. But only if you survive the implosion. I doubt the bottom will fall out of the pet market, but things are about to get very interesting indeed.

Give me your thoughts in the comments on what we can do to steady the ship in what seems like quite bumpy waters ahead.