AAHA data shows 17% of lab tests go unbilled, and server-based PIMS are part of the reasonMount Pearl animal hospital closes after 39 years citing veterinarian shortageFront-desk checkout averages seven to 10 minutes, in-room checkout takes two to fiveAAHA splits diabetes management guidelines into separate canine and feline editionsPetMetrix releases free report tracking 22 months of new competition in pet prescriptionsMerck launches non-adjuvanted rabies vaccine line with half-milliliter dose82 dogs with B-cell lymphoma lived a median 660 days after CHOP plus adoptive T-cell therapyMontana practice hired an associate to split on-call dutyAAHA data shows 17% of lab tests go unbilled, and server-based PIMS are part of the reasonMount Pearl animal hospital closes after 39 years citing veterinarian shortageFront-desk checkout averages seven to 10 minutes, in-room checkout takes two to fiveAAHA splits diabetes management guidelines into separate canine and feline editionsPetMetrix releases free report tracking 22 months of new competition in pet prescriptionsMerck launches non-adjuvanted rabies vaccine line with half-milliliter dose82 dogs with B-cell lymphoma lived a median 660 days after CHOP plus adoptive T-cell therapyMontana practice hired an associate to split on-call duty
The Exam RoomBy The VeterinaryPracticeNow Desk3 min readNovember 4, 2026
Mount Pearl animal hospital closes after 39 years citing veterinarian shortage
Sunrise Animal Hospital announced a temporary closure starting Nov. 13 after two veterinarians left to start their own practice nearby.
Sunrise Animal Hospital in Mount Pearl, Newfoundland, announced a temporary closure starting Nov. 13 after 39 years in operation. The clinic closed after two veterinarians left to open their own practice in nearby Paradise.
The decision that forced the closure
According to Dr. Maggie Brown-Bury, "president-elect of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association" and a locum veterinarian in Newfoundland and Labrador, Sunrise closed because two veterinarians recently left to start New Horizons Animal Practice in nearby Paradise. The clinic posted on social media that the closure was "an incredibly difficult decision" but gave no timeline for reopening.
Brown-Bury told CBC News the "closure is just one example of a much larger issue." The Canadian Occupational Projection System projects 5,000 veterinarian job openings from 2022 to 2031, against 4,300 expected job seekers. Brown-Bury said "it has always been difficult to recruit new veterinarians to Newfoundland and Labrador, particularly if they're not from here."
The succession path that no longer exists
When associates leave to open a competing practice, the owner-DVM who remains faces the decision Sunrise made: continue operating short-staffed or close temporarily. According to CBC News, the province "only recently increased the number of seats it funds at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island from three to six," and most graduates who return to work in Newfoundland and Labrador "originally" came from the province.
Brown-Bury told CBC News that Mount Pearl pet owners "will likely not feel much impact from" the "closure, being in an area with other clinics nearby."
The rural math is worse
Brown-Bury said "the province's veterinarian shortage is" worse in rural areas. She cited Marystown, where the town's only animal clinic "shut down because its sole veterinarian had to retire." Pet owners in that area now "have to travel at least two hours to receive care." "A lot of people want to live sort of more in city centres or close to city centres and not live in rural areas. And that impacts the workforce that we have available to some of these places," she said.
Brown-Bury said encouraging young people in smaller communities "to get their veterinarian education and come back home to work" is "unfortunately the most reliable way. But it's not a very efficient or quick way."
If you own a practice in a market where new grads will not relocate, we'd consider these moves. First, map what it would cost in equity or comp to retain an associate, and compare that to what you could get in a sale today. Second, if you want to stay independent, start recruitment earlier than you think you need to, the lead time for finding coverage in an underserved market is real. Third, if recruitment isn't working, decide whether you'll operate short-staffed or close on your own timeline rather than waiting until the decision is forced.
What this means for relief and locum veterinarians
Brown-Bury "works as a locum veterinarian, focusing on helping clinics in rural areas," according to CBC News. If you work relief, practices in underserved regions are competing for transient coverage, and the rates reflect that scarcity. Watch for situations where an owner is using locum coverage while deciding whether to close permanently, you want to know that context before you take the contract.
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