I am writing to explain to our clients and the public where our practice stands, what kind of care we can realistically provide, and to ask which services matter most to you as we decide what our operating model should look like.
Where Things Stand
For a little over two years, we have operated out of our small, one-room shop on the square here in Hammondsport. We had hoped to expand by adding a private euthanasia room, an office/exam room, and a proper reception area, but those plans are now uncertain.
The building is for sale, and we do not yet know what that means for us. We do not know whether a new owner would want us to remain in the building, whether they would have another use for it, or whether any new rent would be affordable for a practice like ours. Finding another suitable location in the village is also challenging.
Why I am Asking for Your Input
We must match our care model to what we can provide sustainably. I love the slower, more personal approach we have built here, but we also have limited space, staff, and hours. That means we need to make deliberate choices about where we can do the most good.
One commitment remains firm: we will not turn down a euthanasia for a suffering animal when we can help, whether that animal is an established patient or not.
Our Current Capacity
Like many clinics in the area, we are doing our best within the limits of our current space, staffing, and schedule. I know it is frustrating when:
- Return calls about blood work or diagnostic results take longer than they should.
- Calls are not returned quickly.
- Emails wait a couple of weeks or more for a response from me.
- Appointments are hard to find.
That frustration is real for everyone involved. You may be worried because your animal needs something and we have not gotten to it as quickly as we should. I feel that too. My staff feels it as well, especially when they are trying to help while also managing the limits of a very small practice.
I understand why these delays are upsetting, and I bear the ultimate responsibility, but this is a situation we all need to address honestly, so I can find a better path forward.
What I am Asking of Everyone
When there is this much stress, it is easy for people to feel pulled in different directions. I am asking everyone to stay as understanding as possible with each other and with the people trying to help.
Our first job is to serve the pets and clients of this area as well as we can, and that depends on trust between clients, veterinarians, emergency clinics, technicians, and front desk teams. We are all part of the same effort: helping animals and the people who love them while finding a sustainable way to keep doing difficult, high-stress work.
The Financial Reality
I also need to be transparent about the financial realities. Our prices have gone up because the practice needs to cover its costs and pay the people doing the work.
Conventional business advice for a clinic with more demand than capacity is to raise prices until the schedule becomes manageable. I call this the “evil math,” and I am doing everything I can to avoid pricing people out of care.
At 64 years old, I do not need the same things a young veterinarian may need while carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in school loans. I have the luxury, and frankly the unfair advantage, of only needing this practice to be sustainable. I do not need it to become a big moneymaker.
Where We Can Do the Most Good
That means focusing on the strengths where we can have the greatest impact:
- Geriatric and palliative care: helping older animals stay comfortable, maintain their quality of life, and pass peacefully when the time comes.
- Behavior support: I find behavior cases rewarding, and some of this work may be possible through simpler visits that do not require a technician or full weekday clinic setup.
- Limited triage: when appropriate, I can help clients think through whether an emergency or referral path is realistic.
Our practice is modest in scope. We will not ever function as a full-service hospital. We do not perform spays or neuters, except for cat castrations. We do not have an X-ray machine or extensive dental equipment.
We send major blood panels to an outside lab, while still offering immediate in-house testing when we need a quick picture of an animal’s stability.
About Emergency and Triage Support
I am no longer able to practice emergency medicine the way I once did, but I do have many years of triage experience. I can examine your animal, take a history, and give you an honest assessment of what I think is happening.
If the likely next step is an emergency clinic, surgeon, or a referral that is not realistic for your situation, we can talk through the options and make a humane, appropriate decision.
That can sometimes spare you and your animal a long, costly emergency visit when it is not the right path. It may also help relieve the congestion at a busy emergency clinic.
What We Need to Hear From You
Please tell me which services or kinds of support are most important to you from this practice. For example:
- Puppy and kitten care and vaccines
- Geriatric, palliative, and end-of-life care
- Behavior support
- A place to turn when the ideal treatment plan is financially out of reach
- Limited triage when you need help deciding whether an emergency or referral path is realistic
Your answers will help me decide what to prioritize, what to scale back, and what kind of space and staffing we should be trying to build around.
How to Send Feedback
Please do not call the clinic or bring these comments to our already overwhelmed front desk.
You may reply to our main Gmail account, but the best way to send your thoughts directly to me is [email protected].
Please do not use that address for emergencies, case updates, medical questions, or anything that needs a timely response. It is only for this informational feedback and will not be checked regularly for patient care.
Your input will help me understand what services are most important to the region, especially knowing the services you would most hate to lose. Please let me know how we can best serve the pets, the pet owners, and all our neighbors here in the Finger Lakes.
Thank you,
Dr. Jerry Smith
Smith Veterinary Service
[email protected]