Thanks to everyone who voted against or played a role in preventing the proposed 10% tax on veterinary services from becoming part of California’s 2009 state budget. This tax, along with proposed budget cuts, was intended to help reduce California’s multi-billion dollar deficit.

Dedicated veterinarians, clients, and pet lovers joined forces to ensure that their voices were heard by California state legislators. Increasing taxes on veterinary services would have limited pet owners’ ability to afford veterinary care. Our current recession is already creating financial strain that has led some pet owners to more heavily weigh the cost of their pet's upkeep against other life expenditures, including their own health care. The proposed tax would have added approximately 10% to the cost of veterinary services. As a result, pet owners may forced to bypass diagnostic and treatment processes pertinent to the health of their pets.

Too many families are already being forced to give up their pets to shelters or leave them to fend for themselves on the streets because they can no longer afford to care for them. We cannot let the state compound the problem.

We all must remain alert and support the effort to be sure this tax is never enacted.