Keep Our Pets Safe

Keep Our Pets Safe
Proposed Veterinary Professional Associates are Dangerous to Colorado Pets.

FAQs Get Involved

Veterinarians in Colorado are opposed to introducing Veterinary Professional Associates (VPAs) to the state and they are speaking out about it. Hear a local vet explain why adding a mid-level position will endanger animals and will not result in better clinical outcomes for animals. Gain a new perspective on this critical issue and understand what is at stake for your pets.

Dangerous for our Pets

What is the proposed Veterinary Professional Associate?

Special interest groups are pushing a misleading ballot measure to introduce a Veterinary Professional Associate (VPA) in Colorado, whose training would be mostly online with minimal hands-on instruction. If passed, VPAs would be allowed to practice veterinary medicine, including performing surgery after only a one-semester internship. Read the full text here.

Why are they dangerous?

The Hidden Dangers of Veterinary Professional Associates
- Inadequate Training for Surgery Risks Pet Safety: VPAs would have inadequate training yet be allowed to perform surgery on your pet. When it comes to your pet’s safety and well-being, even routine procedures can become complicated.
- Unnecessary New Profession and Inadequate Training: A VPA is not a midlevel provider like a nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant in human medicine. A VPA’s training would be mostly online with minimal hands-on instruction. This measure would allow VPAs to perform surgery after only an internship.
- Misleading Voters and Exploiting Students: This ballot measure is designed to fool Colorado voters into creating a new position for a job that does not exist so that colleges can make more money from unsuspecting students who will then be buried in unnecessary student debt.

Organizations Opposed to Ballot Initiative to Establish VPAs

Colorado Vets Know Best

Colorado Vets: No to Veterinary Professional Associates

Veterinarians practicing in Colorado today oppose introducing VPAs to the state. They know that adding mid-level positions does not result in better clinical outcomes for animals.

When it comes to your pet’s safety and well-being, even routine procedures can become complicated. If passed, someone with inadequate training would be allowed to perform surgery on your pet. A veterinary professional associate is not a mid-level provider like a nurse practitioner or a physician’s assistant to a doctor. It’s the equivalent of completing a mostly online program with minimal training, and this measure would allow Veterinary Professional Associates to perform surgery after only a one-semester internship.

Special interest groups designed this ballot measure to fool voters into creating a new position for a job that does not exist so colleges can make more money from unsuspecting students who will face limited job security due to varying state regulations. It is being pushed by a small group of special interests and corporations who stand to make millions by dangerously changing pet healthcare at the ballot box. Your pet deserves to be seen by a veterinarian—not an undertrained veterinary professional associate who received their training through mostly online coursework.

There is a reason we trust our vets. Say no to Veterinary Professional Associates.

FAQs

Why is this measure dangerous for Colorado pets?

This ballot measure is dangerous because it would let inadequately trained individuals—known as Veterinary Professional Associates or VPAs—perform surgery on your pets. A VPA would have minimal training through a mostly online course and a one-semester internship. This measure misleads voters into thinking it enhances accessibility and lowers costs. In reality, it endangers your pet’s health and exploits students who may face limited job security.
Pets and pet owners shouldn’t be guinea pigs for risky, profit-driven vet care that puts pets at risk and puts Colorado at odds with federal regulations and state laws that protect animals in 43 other states.
This measure prioritizes corporate profits over the safety and well-being of your pets.

Why is a Veterinary Professional Associate (VPA) the wrong idea for Colorado?

A VPA is the wrong idea for Colorado because it compromises the quality of care our pets receive. A VPA would have minimal training through only a mostly online program and a brief internship. This is far less rigorous than the extensive education and hands-on experience that licensed veterinarians undergo. Allowing VPAs to perform complex veterinary procedures, including surgeries, puts pets at risk of misdiagnosis and inadequate treatment. Moreover, the creation of this position misleads voters into thinking it fills a necessary role, while in reality, it creates a job that does not meet the high standards required for veterinary care. This ballot measure benefits colleges and special interests financially, while leaving students burdened with student loans and facing limited job security due to varying state regulations, pet owners financially burdened, and pets inadequately cared for. Our pets deserve to be treated by fully trained, experienced veterinarians who can ensure their health and safety.

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