For these horses from western Quebec, vet care from Ontario has been life-changing
Owners relieved as 3 Ontario vets step up to help during shortage
Crouched on the floor of a stable in Wakefield, Que., 35 kilometres north of Ottawa, Dr. Valerie Higginson set up a portable X-ray machine, attempting to pinpoint the source of a horse's lameness.
"He seems really sweet," said Higginson as she ran her hands over the back of the 11-year-old off-track Thoroughbred.
Leading him into the riding arena, past two small barn cats, Isabelle Ratkaj, the barn manager who looks after some 50 horses on her grandfather's property at Knight Stables, clicked her tongue and the horse cantered in a circle around her.
"We're flexing different joints in the leg. We're trying to isolate where the lameness is coming from," said Higginson.
"It's just one tool in our toolbox to diagnose lameness."
A veterinarian with Navan Veterinary Services, Higginson is one of three Ontario vets travelling up to 100 kilometres into the Outaouais region of Quebec to serve clients with large animals.
"It was toward the end of the summer that we started to come over and we've been coming pretty much weekly since then," said Higginson.
"I heard about the struggle that some of our clients had before we came over and just thought it was really important to address that need."
Over the past few years, she says horse and large-animal clients have been having a particularly hard time because of a widespread veterinarian shortage in western Quebec — with some owners even taking their horses by trailer into Ontario for appointments.
"Even just their regular kind of vaccines and maintenance care, they hadn't been able to have in at least over a year," said Higginson.
"I think people feel a bit more comforted that they've got some support when they have emergencies come up."
'It changes life 100%'
Ratkaj says having someone to call — even if they're in a different province — makes all the difference.
"It's really hard. You feel like you have nobody to turn to because the vets just are so busy," said Ratkaj.
"You kind of feel guilty too as a horse owner that you're not giving the best care to your horse," she said. "You're kind of struggling: do I have to give this medication or can I call somebody for advice?"
In times of emergency she says they're often on their own.
"You're just kind of stuck," said Ratkaj. "Your only option is to trailer in. Obviously we have medication on hand and we have all those tools but sometimes you just need the vet to be there."
WATCH | How vets from Ontario have been helping out in western Quebec:
Katharine Fletcher knows that feeling.
The Quyon resident was forced to put down her 31-year-old mare, Crescent, last spring. The horse was lying on the ground in agony after collapsing and a vet couldn't make it in time.
Fletcher says she and her husband made the difficult decision to put Crescent down themselves, in what she called a "terrible beautiful act of last love."
Seven months later, Fletcher's remaining horse, Trooper, is benefiting from the Ontario veterinarians' services in her area.
"It changes life 100 per cent," said Fletcher.
"I don't know anyone who doesn't love their animals and it comes with a responsibility."
She says the first time one of the Ontario vets came to her property, she got emotional.
"I was almost in tears of thanks," said Fletcher.
"I just can't emphasize it enough. They're our beloved soul mates and you just really want them to be well."
Long days, stress and 'empathy fatigue'
The process of being able to practise in Quebec started months back, says Dr. John Donovan, a partner at the Prescott Animal Hospital and Rideau-St. Lawrence Veterinary Services in Ontario.
He said the three partner clinics heard people were struggling, especially following the death of a beloved veterinarian, Dr. Andrea Kelly.
Kelly took her life in July 2022, leaving her family and community devastated. An Ottawa-based veterinarian who was also licensed to practise in Quebec, she owned the Ottawa Valley Large Animal Clinic and served close to 600 clients in the Pontiac and Ottawa surrounding area.
In an interview with CBC in August 2022, Erin Kelly said her sister always put the clients first — even when it may have affected her — knowing there was a widespread shortage of large-animal vets.
The Ontario veterinarians who have now stepped in, say Andrea Kelly's story weighs on them heavily.
"It's tragic what Andrea went through and it's not an uncommon thing in our profession," said Donovan. "She was absolutely a critical component to the large animal community over here on the Quebec side."
"Mental health is real and in our profession, we deal with long days, a lot of stress, but more importantly, this is a very emotional profession that we deal with. There's a lot of empathy fatigue."
'Stretched to the max'
Speaking at a welcome event for prospective clients in Quyon, Que., Donovan said there are fewer people graduating and pursuing large animal veterinary medicine and more veterinarians who are retiring.
"It's becoming a situation where in Ontario alone, we're stretched to max," said Donovan.
Dr. Jean Cyr, a partner at Navan Veterinary Services and one of the veterinarians now licensed to practise in Quebec, says the clinic contacted the provincial licensing board in Quebec to understand the "long list of requirements" to get authorization to work in the province.
He says they wrote a qualifying exam online and paid licensing fees before making their first trip to Quebec.
"They're so, so appreciative, it's unbelievable," said Cyr of the clients they visit.
"I think we're here for the long term, you know, that's our goal anyway," said Cyr.
For now, he says they are exempt from the French language regulations and the vets have three years to provide a language equivalency.
Although the long days driving between provinces can be taxing, Cyr, who has been practising for 29 years, says the clinics "feel an obligation to try to help."
"I hope they build a bridge just for veterinarians across the Ottawa River. It would be awesome," joked Cyr.
He says it sometimes takes him upward of two hours to get to one call.
"We expect a lot from ourselves and if we need to get to an emergency call … two-and-a-half hours, I don't know if that's acceptable," said Cyr.
"It weighs on you, there's no weekends off in your mind, you're always thinking about cases," he said. "But that's our life, we accept that."
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